


I’d Wait a Lifetime for You

by AuryDaffodil



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Greek Mythology - Freeform, Hades reincarnation, Long lost love, M/M, Modern Romance, Phantom Thieves - Freeform, Reincarnation, Romance, Soriku - Freeform, Vanitas is a hopeless romantic, Vanitas tries to sweep ven off his feet many many times, Ven is a little of an airhead, Will eventually have sexual situations and mature themes, persephone riencarnation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-10
Updated: 2019-04-24
Packaged: 2019-10-07 17:01:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 47,422
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17369900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AuryDaffodil/pseuds/AuryDaffodil
Summary: Vanven. After losing the love of his life, the God of the Underworld roamed the earth for centuries until he settled on a new life. Now a successful businessman and now named Vanitas, the former god finds himself tumbling into a story as grand as himself, stumbling upon the reincarnation of his former love and a string of heists caused by a mysterious phantom thief known as Wayward Wind. Edited by waywardriot.





	1. Daffodils

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Were the daffodils his punishment, or were they the stepping stones to his happiness?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for checking out the fic! Some notes will be left below so please take the chance to read them! Hope you guys enjoy!!

_He almost took a running start before his mother tugged him back. His feet nearly gave out under him, had his mother not caught him and helped him back up._

_“Dear, you know I don’t want you running off all of a sudden,” She chided softly._

_“Sorry, mother,” he apologized sheepishly as he eyed the ground, though his guilt melted away as soon as his excitement took over him again. “Please, can I go play with them?” he asked as he pointed at the girls pirouetting on the surface of the water. They looked like they were having so much fun, and it was boring just standing around and having his hand held. “I promise I won’t go far.” He knew that she was scared of him vanishing, since he liked to wander, but other than the forest nearby and the pond, there wasn’t any other place to disappear to in that open field._

 “ _Well...” His mother bit her bottom lip, looking back at the giggling girls. So long as he was nearby and it was just the girls, she guessed he would be safe. With a sigh, she released his hand and patted his head gently. “Alright. Just make sure to stay where I can see you,” she relented, but he was already running over to the pond as she spoke, flower buds sprouting from where his feet touched the ground._

_He ran straight to the girls, waving at them excitedly. They were so nice to him whenever he and his mother visited; they watched over him and helped him water the wildflowers that grew nearby. Like his mother, they held his hand to make sure he wouldn’t trip and fall over himself--he did trip a lot, though. As soon as he reached them, one of them took his hands and lifted him to the pond’s surface, his body becoming light as air as they danced and twirled on the mirror of water._

_“Hi!” she said with a grin. Her voice was warped, like she was underwater at that moment. “We’ve been waiting for you! Now we can play!”_

_“Yeah!” He threw his head back and laughed with her, streams of flower petals fluttering off his golden hair. Flora of all kinds would spring from his body whenever he moved; every step he took brought life to even the most barren and infertile of places. No matter what kind of emotion he felt, flowers and plants would bloom upon him and make him a walking work of art. Everyone knew of him and loved him, despite his mother trying her best to shield him from others._

_His mother told him that was why she kept him close. He was unique, a beauty, she told him. The son of spring and harvest, his presence a blessing from nature. He was so small yet somehow so noticeable, well-loved by everyone who met him. With that came its drawbacks, and his mother always kept a watchful eye on him because of those drawbacks. She always gave him rules whenever he wanted to wander off on his own._

_‘Don’t talk to strangers’ was the most important rule of all. She warned him many times, but she had always promised to come and find him should that ever happen. He understood what she meant and listened because she was his mother, and she was right about everything, after all. She loved him, and he loved her. No one else’s love was stronger than her own._

_As he spun in the air with the girls, the shadow almost escaped the corner of his eye. He paused, marigold petals falling and creating ripples along the water’s surface as he stared back at the creature with glowing red eyes._

 

* * *

 

_“As of now, your six o’ clock meeting has been changed to eight, and the funding for the newest shipment has gone through, so we’ll be expecting at least three tons of supplies this Monday.”_

“Mmm.”

_“Sir?”_

“Namine,” Vanitas sighed, pulling away from his phone for a second and setting it down as he got in his car. “What’s with all the ‘sir’ crap?” She never called him sir unless it was in public and in front of the office drones--she didn’t take him seriously enough to actually call him sir.

 _“It’s the only way to get your attention. You’ve been spacing out ever since you got on the line.”_ Right. Figures she would have caught up by now. She was his secretary--a nosey one, at that. Somehow, she could read his mind better than anyone. It was helpful, yet annoying at the same time.

“Yeah, I'm fine.” Vanitas switched from his phone speaker to his bluetooth as soon as he started the car--a nice black BMW he got himself years ago. “The meeting went alright. Got them to roll over and sign the dotted line in under an hour. They were stubborn as hell, but I got ‘em.”

“ _You don’t sound as happy about that as you usually would.”_ She caught on fast. _“Or as big-headed.”_ Okay, now she was pushing it, but he’d let it slide because he didn’t have the energy to berate her.

“Nothing’s wrong,” he said, stopping at a red light. “Maybe I’m still jet-lagged. I’m gonna try to get something from the pharmacy before I head back to my hotel.” That was a lie. It was more than jet-lag. He had gotten some sleep and food in him the moment he got to Daybreak City. His health had never been better, yet he still lied to her as he squeezed the steering wheel.

 _“Alright,”_ said his secretary on the other side. Her tone had raised a pinch, so he could tell she actually didn’t believe him, but good on her for not questioning further. _“I’ll email you your schedule and the meetings you have to attend while over there. Try to take some time to yourself while you’re there, okay? I’ve heard that the beaches at Daybreak Coast are really nice this time of year.”_

“I hate sand and you know that.” If he could see her face right now, he’d bet she was trying to hide her knowing smile. “Bye.” He ended the call and kept his eyes on the traffic ahead of him, tapping a finger on the steering wheel impatiently.

His gaze traveled almost anywhere as the traffic went nowhere--but then he saw the business card he had tossed on his dashboard. It was just a clean and simple white card with a company’s name that he had already forgotten; it would have been completely unremarkable, if not for the daffodils designed by the logo. Right. That was the real reason why he had been acting so strange that afternoon. This was the fourth time today he had seen daffodils--some had been in a vase in his hotel room, some were growing outside the gym he went to, fake ones were on display at a second-hand shop (he detested seeing those the most), and the fourth time now came from this little card.

Staring at it made his insides twist, like his guts were wrapping around his heart and squeeze, squeeze, squeezing it until he felt dizzy. No matter how long it had been or how many times he had moved on with his life, it was as if these flowers were making sure to wriggle back into his life somehow. He couldn’t remember any other day where he had seen them so much; was this his punishment? Hadn’t each passing day of this lonely, meaningless life been punishment enough? No matter how many successes or triumphs, they were all brief, only small victories that boosted him to the top before those damned flowers sent him plummeting back to his harsh reality.

He had half a mind to crumple the card into a tiny ball and chuck it out the window--and yet he couldn’t. He couldn’t just throw it away.

It would have been like throwing _him_ away, and he could never do that. Not now, not yesterday. Not for the last hundreds of thousands of years he had walked this isolated and damned existence. He had waited and searched for this long, ever since the day his true love was stolen away from him, and he had been left with agony and misery for the past hundred lifetimes.

He swallowed down his feelings like bitter medicine. Now wasn’t the time to be like this. He had built this new life for himself, living the best he could. He had clawed his way to the top, learning from all that _he_ had taught him, living for _him_ as he would have wanted it. He had to pull himself together.

He took the card and dialed the number on it before tossing it to the back seat, clearing his throat as a voice answered.

“Yes, this is Vanitas Harte, co-CEO of _Harteful Enterprise_. What time would you want to arrange the meeting?”

 

* * *

 

At twenty-one, Vanitas had taken over the small family supplying and shipping company along with his step-brothers, molding their father’s business into one of the most successful provider and delivery services in the country. Whatever was needed out in the world, they had it, or if something needed to be delivered with utmost care, they could do it. Though, their father, Xehanort, still overlooked the company despite his retirement, and he had chosen a role for each of his sons to follow.

With himself, Ansem, and Terra, they were an unstoppable force with their skills in marketing and distribution. Ansem was the face of the company (which was fine with Terra and Vanitas, since the eldest brother looked the most like their father) and the brains. Terra was the strength and problem solver. Vanitas was the charmer and traveler.

This was why he found himself traveling from the home office to a museum across the country which had requested their delivery services. The delivery involved pieces from a Greek collection that dated back thousands of years, and seeing that he was going to be meeting with business partners in the same place, it was only natural that Vanitas was sent there to oversee that all of the pieces were delivered safely and smoothly. The young CEO didn’t mind, seeing that it would give him a moment out of the office, plus he could visit one of the most lively cities in the state.

That, and he had fond memories of Greece. He couldn’t miss the opportunity to see if some of his old things had finally caught up to him.

The museum of history and natural arts was located just near the center of Daybreak City, nestled in the sleepy hollow that rested between the city park and the entertainment district. The entire street in front of it was empty, save for the occasional elderly person coming by to feed the pigeons. Vanitas parked his car and met with security at the back door, stepping into the curator’s office.

“Ah!” the curator greeted as he stood from his desk and walked over to Vanitas, shaking his hand as he did. “It’s nice to make your acquaintance, Mr. Harte. I’m the curator of the museum, Ira Unicornis.”

“Nice to meet you, too.” Long name, Vanitas thought--it was as long as the man’s periwinkle hair, though he had pointed ears and golden-brown eyes himself, so who was he to judge? “We were actually slightly surprised to hear that you wanted our company to handle the shipping and delivery of the pieces. That aside, it’s an honor, too.”

“Oh no, the honor is all ours,” Ira replied as he waved his hand and led Vanitas out of the office and into a hallway. Vanitas was already subtly sniffing the air for clay and dust; those were two things that reminded him of the cobblestone paths he used to traverse when he was small, all that time ago.

“When our museum was given permission to have the collection on display, myself and the rest of the staff were ecstatic. This collection is said to have been a part of many temples that were once thought lost in Greece.”

Which temples were they, though? Vanitas raked his brain back to all the temples he had visited on his travels, all holding a special place in his heart. He tried to think of the ones that had been lost to time but none really came to mind. Then again, with all the time (literally) in the world, it wasn’t that surprising that he couldn’t remember which one had been rediscovered. Still, that didn’t wane the curiosity or excitement that bubbled up in his gut. He hadn’t been to Greece in ages; he knew why, though, clearly since the bubbles in him were starting to make him nauseous, but he shook his head and focused on his job. Terra wouldn’t stop nagging if the blabbering curator noticed he wasn’t paying attention.

“-news, I do worry about opening day.”

“Wait, say that again?”

“Ah, it’s nothing to worry about, sir!” Ira assured as soon as he caught his comment. “I’ve already requested Mr. Terra Harte’s services in advance, and he’s assured me that his security personnel should be arriving with the other pieces.”

That made Vanitas only more curious. Terra had created the small business on the side once _Harte Enterprise_ had started to grow and more expensive items were being requested. If asked for, Terra would send groups of security guards to help deliver and watch over the items while they were dropped off at their destination. It served to put the customers more at ease should whatever was being delivered really mean a lot to them. Vanitas had overseen deliveries like this himself most of the time, but it was a surprise to hear the service was being requested by such a small museum.

“What’s been going on with the news?” he asked, just as Ira pushed the double doors open.

“Well, not to worry you, but as of late, a string of break ins and stolen pieces have been made around town. And it looks like it has been the work of-”

Whatever the curator said next was white noise in Vanitas’ ears. His whole world seemed to slow down and, like tunnel vision, only one thing remained in his sights.

The large room filled with artifacts possibly from his childhood were beautiful, yes. The sunlight pouring in from the skylights above casted an ethereal glow over dusty, untouched paintings and stone carvings fixed on the walls. Vases and pots he could have broken as a child greeted him like old friends with their everlasting beauty--yet none of them had him caught like this. Nothing in the world made him feel as light or breathless as this. If he had any more tears to spill from eons ago, he was sure they would be running down his cheeks at that moment. He hadn’t cried in so long, but he wanted to now and to soak them into the golden halo just a few feet away from him. Surely, daffodils would sprout forth from the blonde curls if he did.

“Persephone…” he breathed as he took a step forward, the footstep echoing in the large room. The young man ogling the stone carving in front of him spun around, and Vanitas barely had time to catch a second wind.

Those eyes that had looked at him so kindly all those years ago never changed. They were still so wide and filled with curiosity, as blue as the lake the child of spring danced upon that day they first saw each other. Many things were different about him, yet Vanitas’ heart swelled with love and hope all the same. Was this the daffodils’ doing? Instead of a punishment, were they the stepping stones that brought him back to his better half? He almost couldn’t believe it.

“My Persephone…”

His lost love stared back at him, a freckled nose wrinkling as the gears in the young man’s head slowly turned. He shifted on one foot as he looked back at Vanitas, responding in a voice that was all-too familiar.

“Hey… Don’t I know you from somewhere?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi again! Sorry the first chapter is short but I wanted to dive you guys into the story a little bit just to give you a taste of what is to come. I always wanted to work on a reincarnation fic and I could not get the idea of Vanitas and a Ventus being (mostly) the reincarnations of Hades and Persephone out of my head! With any luck, this story won’t be too long but still, I hope you guys stick around to read it ^u^ Thanks so much for taking a look at the fic again, you guys are awesome! Until next time!!!


	2. Eyes as Blue as Marbles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One way or another, Vanitas isn't going to let Persephone- Ventus - be stolen away from him anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT OF THE FIC!! I didn't think it was going to take off so far but I'm do glad a lot of you had enjoyed the first chapter! Big thanks to waywardriot for editing the fic and for all his hard work on making the story more lively! I encourage you guys to check out his works, he writes the best KH fics ;u; I hope you guys like this second chapter! Thank you again!! ^^

“Um,” a young woman hesitated as she peered through the shades of Ira’s office. She really hoped Vanitas couldn’t see her as she spied on him. “He’s going to be okay, right?” she asked, glancing over to her colleague as he organized the papers on his desk for the fifth time. “Or maybe I should be asking you that? The both of you seem to be on edge.”  
  
“Huh?” Ira looked up, almost dropping the papers he just collected. “What makes you say that, Ava?”   
  
“Shot in the dark.” She offered a sincere smile, grey eyes twinkling the same kindness. “Ira, maybe you should head home early today. I can take over the final notices and the schedule for the exhibit unveiling with Mr. Harte, if you’d like.”   
  
The curator sighed, running his fingers through his hair--a lot of it was coming loose from the rubber band he wore. “I think I’ll take you up on that. All these rumors and headlines about the art thief have really been stressing me out,” he said as he pulled out the papers that went into detail about the Greek collection. Ironically, attached to it was today’s newspaper, containing an article about how an oil painting from a local city’s museum had seemingly vanished overnight; the only thing left in its place was a green calling card written in golden cursive letters. “I just have this feeling that this thief is going to come, and…” He shook his head again, another headache coming. “I know it’s the worst-case scenario and we hired the best, but I still can’t help but worry. We haven’t had an opportunity to host something this big in a long time, and the museum could really use the publicity that comes with these pieces. Do you know anyone who comes to museums anymore?” Their eyes met.   
  
“Ventus.” And then they both laughed.   
  
“He’s here almost every week, so I guess you can say he plays a big role in keeping this place afloat,” giggled Ava. “Did he already leave, by the way? I didn’t get the chance to say hi.”   
  
“I’m afraid you just missed him,” said Ira, finally feeling a little better thanks to his colleague. “We caught him just as he was taking some notes for his next essay.”   
  
“We?” Ava followed her co-worker’s gaze to the window. “Oh, so he and Mr. Harte got to meet. How’d it go?”

* * *

Vanitas brooded over the cup of coffee Ira had left him with; if he stared at it any longer, it would probably boil over and evaporate right before his very eyes. Literally. Turning up the heat would be no trouble for him, but since he was still in public, he held back.   
  
He wasn’t sure how long he had been staring at his drink and standing in that hallway, but he knew it had been long enough for Persephone-- _Ventus_ , he reminded himself--to have left already. He berated himself for that, angry that he had just let him walk out of there with only a few words spoken between them. It had been thousands of years since his love had slipped through his arms like sand, and all he did was spout a bad pick-up line and watch him leave--what had he been thinking? He was Hades, for crying out loud! How could he had let that happen?   
  
_‘You’re still Hades.’_ He glanced over at a large window that peered into another office. To anyone else, he appeared as any other attractive twenty-four year old. But they ‘only looked’, as his brother once expressed. No one really _saw_ what the gods actually looked like; no one else could see the dark being in the reflection, a body with dark smoke contorting around it and red eyes filled with years and years of experience staring back at him. _‘You’re still the ruler of the damned Underworld. Even if you don’t have your kingdom anymore, that doesn’t make you any less of the king you are.’_   
  
It was nice of his ego to try and give him a pep talk, but what did it matter?   
  
This being--Hades--walked among the humans with a form he crafted on his own, seeming to age as them, yet still retaining this youthful appearance. He had walked this earth for the last four thousand years, maybe more, though he had lost track after the first decade. How could he be expected to keep time straight when the person he cherished the most, the one who gave his life meaning, wasn’t there to spend those years with him? How could he when he had just watched him walk out the door?

* * *

 _So, the reunion he was hoping for didn’t go_ **_exactly_ ** _as planned._   
  
_“Oh my gosh!” Persephone grinned at him. “It_ **_is_ ** _you!”_   
  
_Vanitas nearly choked. “Y-You remember me?”_   
  
_“Yeah!” He jogged over, and Vanitas almost raised his arms to catch him in a long-awaited embrace before the blonde stopped in front of him and pulled out a folded flyer from the notebook he carried. “You’re Vanitas Harte, right? Your brother hosted that exhibit opening in France? I remember seeing your picture at the unveiling.” He showed the stunned god the colorful flyer he carried, bright graphics detailing the debut of the Greek collection. Wait, that was how he remembered him, and he was gushing about his_ **_stepbrother_ ** _of all people? This was Persephone, right? “I’ve always wanted to travel to France and see one of Pierre-Auguste’s works in real life! His take on Impressionism is breathtaking--but to see a lost collection from Greece?” he sighed, looking dreamily at Vanitas. “I had to come and see the pieces myself.”_   
  
_This was Persephone. No doubt about it. No one else could look at Vanitas like that and make his heart feel like pudding._   
  
_“Ephemera snuck you in before his shift ended, didn’t he, Ventus?” Ira tutted as he walked over, shaking his head. “I understand your excitement, but please, we can’t have anyone running around in here until we make sure all precautions are taken care of.”_   
  
_Persephone grinned sheepishly. He had dimples now, Vanitas noticed. They were really cute. “Sorry,” he apologized. “I just wanted to take a look at the collection for my paper, honest!” he explained as he held up the notebook he carried, “I’ll get going now, though.” Finished, he hurried over to the carving he was by before and gathered his things._   
  
_“He’s a regular here,” Ira explained as Vanitas stared at Ventus. “Comes here almost everyday after classes.”_   
  
_“Classes?” asked Vanitas, listening as intensely as he stared. “So he’s a student?”_   
  
_“At one of the local universities. Said his family scraped up as much as they could to get him there.” Ira smiled after the lost nature god as he stuffed his things into his bag. “I don’t see how he didn’t get a scholarship, though. He’s smart enough to have gotten one.”_   
  
_Persephone flipped his bag onto his back, only for the contents to clatter to the floor once more. “God, not again!” he whined._   
  
_“Oh!” Ira winced, surprised. “Well… He’s smart, at least. Book smart.”_   
  
_And Vanitas was falling in love all over again._   
  
_He walked over and picked up some pencils and a whiteboard. “Here,” he said as he handed the items to Persephone. Was it alright to keep calling him Persephone? Sure, he looked like him in every way possible, right down to his clumsiness, but this was not his lover entirely; this was Persephone reborn. His soul, bright and kind as it always was, had grown into another life, one that cast away the flowers in his hair and erased the memory of who he was. Who_ **_they_ ** _were. Vanitas’ chest squeezed. “Hole in your bag?”_   
  
_“I wish,” Persephone sighed. “I guess I overpacked for my trip again. I just want to make sure I have everything, you know?” He accepted the history book Vanitas had picked up. “Thanks,” he smiled. “I guess I didn’t properly introduce myself earlier. I’m Ventus Strife.”_   
  
_Ventus, Ventus, Ventus. It sang in his head and made him feel like he was floating. Vanitas internally swooned as he repeated the name in his head. He hadn’t felt like this since Persephone had first spoken to him all those many lost years ago._   
  
_“Well, you already know my name, but,” Vanitas stood and offered his hand to Ventus, “I’m Vanitas Harte.”_   
  
_Ventus quirked his brow but still smiled and accepted the other’s hand. As he was pulled up, he broke Vanitas’ personal bubble and flooded his senses with the smell of coffee and pastries. Vanitas nearly drooled, the smell and Ventus within such close proximity making his knees weak._   
  
_“You doing alright there?” Ventus hadn’t pulled away. Their hands were still clasped together and he was very,_ **_very_ ** _close. “You haven’t let go of my hand yet,” he said, meeting Vanitas’s eyes. The latter felt like electricity was running through his veins, making his skin tingle and turn red under those wide pools of blue._   
  
_“Neither have you,” Vanitas countered, a rush of confidence hitting him as he inched a little closer to the blonde. “Not that I mind,” he smirked._   
  
_Ventus blushed, pulling away and fixing his hair. Vanitas wanted to run his fingers through it and flick his ear like he used to, missing the way Persephone called him a jerk for doing that._   
  
_“I better get going,” Ventus mumbled as he adjusted his backpack and skirted around the other young man quickly. “I don’t want to overstay my visit. It was nice meeting you!” Before Vanitas could stop him, Ventus was already running out of the exhibit, out his sight once again._   
  
_Vanitas stood there, his hands clenched tightly to his sides as he looked in the direction Ventus had left. His mind and heart were caught in a torrent of emotions, memories of his time with Persephone racing through him. He had found him again. After all this time, he had been reborn. Vanitas never would have thought that this day would have been today. If he had known, he would have come up with a better reason for the former nature god to stay, to talk with him more and get to know who he was now._   
_  
But here he was. Standing among what was once a part of his ruined kingdom, his true love gone once again._

* * *

“But,” he said to himself, sliding his hand into his pocket and pulling a blue marble out of it, “he’s not gone forever this time. He’s here now. Just as a new person.” He rolled the marble around in his palm, the entire thing seeming to be made of preserved sugar glass with golden speckles coloring the center. He had found it on the ground next to the carving Ventus had been standing in front of; though he wasn’t sure if it was the blonde’s, he still remembered how fascinated Persephone was whenever he bought stones from the ocean and cool pieces of permafrost from his trips. He even started collecting them and hid them in his chamber to look at whenever Vanitas was away. Maybe that hobby carried over to this life. _‘Maybe his feelings for me carried over as well,’_ Vanitas smiled to himself, his blood surging with hope.   
  
“Mr. Harte?” Vanitas spun around as Ava walked over to him. “Hi, glad we get the chance to talk again. Sorry for the rushed greeting before. Mr. Unicornis and I had to-” She spotted the marble. “Oh, that’s the marble from the charm on Ventus’ bag, isn’t it?”   
  
“You recognize it?” It was bigger than most marbles, yes, but she could tell?   
  
“He comes here everyday, so yes,” she smiled. “He has all sorts of pins and charms on his bag, but that one is always constant. He told me his brother gave it to him.”   
  
His first thought was, _‘Persephone doesn’t have any brothers.’_ Then Vanitas remembered. He had to get used to this. “I see.” He placed the marble back into his pocket. “I guess I’ll return it to him when I come back tomorrow.”   
  
Ava tilted her head. “You’re coming back tomorrow?”   
  
He was planning on it.

* * *

“Namine,” Vanitas dried his hair out with a towel, sitting on his hotel bed while he had his assistant on speakerphone, “are there any meetings or appointments I need to take care of back at the office? Any major ones?”  
  
_“Not any big ones besides the monthly board meeting with your brothers and Mr. Harte.sr.”_   
  
“Great. Tell them I’ll be extending my stay here in Daybreak City, and that I’m sorry for missing the meeting.” He wasn’t. He never was when it came to his stepfamily. The only one he could be the least bit sorry to was Terra, and that was because he had to deal with both Ansem and their stepfather. “Make sure you notify the hotel, too. Redirect any of my business calls and have a list of the people I need to call ready in the morning, if there are any. I’ll get back to them after breakfast.”   
  
There was a pause. _“Everything going okay over there?”_   
  
“Yeah. Why?”   
  
_“You’re in a much better mood than you were before. I’ve never seen you go through a mood swing this fast,”_ she said while Vanitas turned on the flat screen across from his bed and channel surfed. _“Plus, you never really extend your stays while you’re away from town. Did something happen over there?”_   
  
“Not really.” He decided to go with a Spartan movie that was playing. They were barbaric, but Vanitas admired them for their battle smarts. A lot of honorable souls were sent to his kingdom because of them. “The exhibit had some stuff I wanted to check out. A lot of it reminded me of home.” More like one person did.   
  
_“Oh, I see. It’s been a while since you’ve been in Greece.”_   
  
“Mhm. Not since high school.”   
  
_“It’s nice of Terra to take you there during your birthday and every now and then,”_ said his assistant on the line. _“You get to go see the ruins and all the tourist sites. Do you still visit your old foster parents?”_   
  
Vanitas snorted. “They’d come over here and kick my ass if I didn’t.” Well, maybe not. Zack and Aerith had been the nicest mortals he had ever come across. They found him at his weakest, many years ago on a rainy day in Greece, and seeing that he had nowhere else to go, he stayed with them and was soon bought into their family. Though, it was only a matter of time before the Harte family found him and brought him into the life he had today--but that was another story. “Oh, yeah, make me a memo so I can call them and send Aerith something. Those sunflower seedlings I sent her bloomed a while ago, right?”   
  
Namine confirmed that they did, and Vanitas arranged for more flowers and Zack’s favorite cakes from the bakery back home to be sent to them. “I tell him he’s gonna be a fat ass from all those cakes, but he won’t listen,” Vanitas laughed. “Anyway, I’ll be back soon enough. I want to see this exhibit through and spend some time here in the city.”   
  
“ _Taking my advice to get some time off, huh?”_ Namine smiled on the other side.   
  
“What do you mean? This was my idea.” Namine laughed from the other end, and the CEO shook his head with a scowl. “Bye,” he said before hanging up and lying back on his bed. He felt like he had so much energy, yet he was tired at the same time. From his head to his toes, he could feel every cell in his body vibrating, needing to exert energy. Even so, exhaustion was getting to him, incredibly so. His eyelids were beginning to droop, even as visions of wide blue eyes and golden daffodils swam through his mind.   
  
He lolled his head to his side and glanced at the blue marble sitting on his nightstand. He still needed to think about what he was going to do. He had extended his stay because of Ventus, but what was his plan exactly? He couldn’t just walk up to him tomorrow and say, ‘Hey, I know we met yesterday, but you see, I’m Hades, lord of the underworld and all that, and you used to be Persephone. Well, technically, you still are. You’re just a reincarnation. Oh, yeah, have I mentioned we were married?’   
  
He’d probably get to keep the marble after that. Along with a restraining order.   
  
“I’m not going to leave, though,” Vanitas swore as he reached over and picked up the marble, holding it above his head. It glimmered with the city lights from the large window next to him, blue specks of light dancing along the walls and floors of his room. “Not until I get to catch up with you again. You aren’t Persephone anymore. You aren’t the boy I met by the lake,” he shook his head, gently pulling the marble down and kissing it, “but I promised you that our souls were bound. That we’d be together for eternity.” The glass was cool against his lips, like the kisses he and Persephone shared after their moonlight swims at that very same lake. “And now that I found your soul again, I intend to keep that promise.” 

* * *

With a delighted sigh, Ventus sank his teeth into his warm bagel, the cream cheese melting in his mouth. His father outdid himself as always, each pastry he made tasting better than the last. The college student looked both ways before crossing the street, weaving his way around the sleepy-eyed people who dragged their feet, and hurrying over to the museum. He had some more notes to take.  
  
It wasn’t a surprise to anyone that the city’s museum was Ventus’ favorite spot to go. His father had been an influence in his major since he was a historian himself, and besides it being a easy subject for him in high school, Ventus enjoyed learning about the past and the stories it held, discovered or not. He was even more excited by the fact that the museum had a new exhibit debuting soon.   
  
“Morning, Ephemera!” he exclaimed as he caught the silver-haired man halfway up the museum’s large staircase. “Is it open yet?”   
  
His companion chuckled, “Still a week from now, Ven.” He sobered up as Ventus looked crestfallen. “But I promise I’ll help you get to the front once the reporters are done taking pictures.”   
  
“I’m gonna hold you to that,” Ventus said as he finished the last of his quick breakfast. “Hey, you didn’t get in trouble because you snuck me into the exhibit, did you?” Ventus had started apologizing the minute he got home and onto his cellphone, and now he wished he had thought ahead and pushed down all of his excitement before dragging his friend into his plan.   
  
“Nah, it’s fine. Ava had my back and had Ira cut me some slack,” Ventus was assured with a pat on the shoulder. “Though, they do want you to know you can still check out the exhibit. You just can’t climb over the rope because they bought in some heavy machinery to move some of the bigger statues, and they don’t want anyone getting hurt.”   
  
“There’s more?” Ventus’ eyes were sparkling.   
  
“What did I just say?” Still, Ephemera laughed and held the door open for Ventus, the two of them walking in as the museum slowly came to life. From above, a pterodactyl skeleton loomed with large boards detailing the bones, and several other boards depicting directions for exhibits and their subjects were hanging from above. The receptionist greeted them with a smile and let them in right away. “Yeah, but they’re covered and won’t be unveiled until the exhibit’s debut, so you gotta wait and see just like everyone else.”   
  
“Aw, you’re no fun.” Ventus playfully shoved him, and the two shared a laugh as they crossed into the dinosaur exhibit. “I’ll catch you later. I want to go look around the Spartan exhibit for my brother.”   
  
“For another cosplay?”   
  
“You know it,” Ventus laughed and waved as he took off in the other direction. “See you later!”   
  
“Later!” Ephemera waved in return. “If you see the others around here, let them know I said hey!”   
  
Knowing this place like the back of his hand, the university student found the Spartan exhibit and made notes in heavy detail; he took a close look at every statue and tapestry that detailed the once-mighty warriors, even copying the poses the models had just for fun, and he wrote down everything he saw, right down to their armbands and the emblems on their armor. He had to take every note thoroughly, in an attempt to prevent his brother from withholding his dessert while their father wasn’t looking. Ventus was sure to get the details even with the threat, though. Taking notes was his specialty.   
  
With about five pages worth of notes, Ventus decided to take a break and sneak one more peek at the Greek collection. He promised himself that he would stay behind the rope, like Ephemera had said, and soon found himself a stone’s throw away from the wide room. Only as he drew closer to the room, his face began to heat up. Weird, it was doing that again. It had happened the morning before, and he was sure that after taking some medicine then and this morning, he wouldn’t feel as warm, but his ears were starting to burn again. Now, he felt a little dizzy as he walked closer and closer to the closed-off exhibit. By the time he made it over, he wanted to lie down. ‘ _Why is it stronger than yesterday?_ ’   
  
“Hey,” someone said behind him, and his legs gave out at that moment. Before he fell straight to the floor, toned arms hooked around his waist and held him up, his legs splayed underneath him like a foal taking its first steps after birth. With his head spinning, he looked over his shoulder and met Vanitas’ concerned honey-brown eyes. “Well, I was going to ask if you were falling for me already, but this isn’t what I had planned.”   
  
Ventus didn’t know why, but he had the biggest urge to swat at Vanitas and call him a jerk. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed the second chapter! ^^ The story is going to be a wee bit slow to build up the romance between these two, which means more times for Vanitas to use pickup lines and for Ven to get flustered over this dashing young man flirting with him >u< Once again, thank you guys so much for reading and supporting the fic. You're all so nice ^^ See you guys in the next update!


	3. The Not-Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He wasn’t Persephone anymore, but he still had a Vanitas heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Welcome to the newest chapter before we jump into KH3!! (I’ll still be updating on weekends ^^) Fluff ensues and we are going to dive into some action soon >:3 Thanks again for your support, guys! And thanks again to waywardriot for editing this chapter! Hope you guys enjoy it!

The headache from yesterday wasn’t as bad as this one. The one from yesterday had gone away after a good night’s sleep and some medicine—along with a hearty bowl of his father’s chicken noodle soup. It was the go-to cure whenever he was sick, and it always helped him without fail. Ventus could really use that now.    
  
A can of orange soda was dropped into his hands. Well, this wasn’t chicken noodle soup.    
  
“How’s your head feeling?” Vanitas sat next to him on the wooden bench, carrying a can of cola for himself. “Still hurts?”   
  
“Just a little...” A lot actually, but Vanitas had already helped him enough. He had lent him his shoulder and taken him to the nearest bench to rest on, and he even went out of his way to get him a soda. He had done more than enough, and they had just barely met. Ventus couldn’t ask any more from him. “I think I’ll feel better in a bit. Thanks.” He cracked the can open and took deep gulps, wincing immediately after his headache took a sudden turn. “Brain freeze,” he hissed.    
  
“Hey, don’t drink it all at once,” Vanitas laughed, and Ventus shot him a glare as he caught the smirk on the other’s face.   
  
“A little late on that one,” Ventus sighed while Vanitas shrugged, the smirk still present. “What’s so funny?” asked the blond as he set his drink aside.    
  
“You.” Another look. Ventus was starting to wish someone else had come to his rescue. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding. Your face will get stuck like that if you keep glaring.” Vanitas leaned back on the bench, his smile softening. “It wouldn’t make it any less cute, though.”   
  
“Hey,” Ventus started, but the other looked away before he could deny the compliment. Was this the way this man avoided losing a conversation? Not a very sound strategy, but it was effective as Ventus still felt his cheeks warm up from the compliment. “Thanks again for helping me, though,” he sighed. “I guess I should have stayed in bed longer. I felt a lot better this morning.”   
  
“What made you get up at this hour?” asked Vanitas. Ventus fished out the notes he had been working on and showed them to him. The latter whistled. “Right down to the etchings on the gauntlets. I’ve never seen so many bullet points squeezed onto a single sheet of paper like this. Not even my board members are this organized.”   
  
Ventus smiled. “I like to take notes.”   
  
“Clearly,” replied his companion. For a few moments, silence overtook them. It didn’t feel awkward, nor did either young man feel like they needed to force their words out. Ventus would write down little details he caught from exhibits across the room, and Vanitas would take the occasional sip from his soda. It was a much needed moment, since Vanitas was sure if he caught Ventus’ eyes twinkling as he talked again, his heart wouldn’t be able to take it.     
  
“So,” Ventus broke the silence, “how come you’re here this morning? More business for the exhibit?” His eyes were twinkling again, and Vanitas gripped the edge of the bench like a lifeline. “Did you bring in any new art? Or is it the statues? Ephemera mentioned something about statues when I saw him today.”   
  
“You’re getting top secret information from the inside?” Vanitas mocked with a look of surprise, glancing away from his excited companion. “Well, since it looks like you know more than you should, maybe I won’t tell you about the tablets we’re bringing in today.”   
  
“Tablets?!” Ventus scooted over until their legs touched, practically bouncing in his seat. “You mean with ancient text that’s been unearthed? You have to tell me more!” Vanitas turned away another thirty degrees. “Oh, come on!” Ventus pouted, “you can’t just say something like that to a history geek and then leave them hanging! Please? Please tell me more?”   
  
“You know they aren’t as grand as you think, right?” Vanitas chuckled, having made one of the tablets himself. He saw his brother create one some time ago and then made one himself, both to kill time and to mess with his sibling. It was only a matter of time before humans found it and took their own interpretation of it, creating the tablets that Ventus was foaming at the mouth about. The roaming god didn’t even think it was that great, but to this day, sonnets and hymns were still found in the ruins of lands he once occupied. Mortals sure knew how to occupy themselves.   
  
Though, he was a little flattered that Ventus looked so excited about them. His freckles and dimples were showing up again; Vanitas wanted to smooch them until those cheeks painted pink.    
  
“But,” he turned back to Ventus, smiling as their foreheads grazed one another. There was that heavenly scent again. Gods be damned, he’d never thought he’d appreciate cinnamon apple so much. “If you really want to see them, I do have pictures,” he enticed. They were snapshots Terra had sent him while on the plane—his older brother was a history geek, too. Vanitas was sure he and Ventus would get along if they ever met, if Vanitas wanted to watch his former love and his stepbrother go nuts over dusty slabs of rocks. He wasn’t sure if he was ready to commit to that, yet. “And I can show them to you if you want.”   
  
Ventus quickly leaned back, his pulse no longer racing at the thought of ancient texts. “Uh,” he started, tongue-tied as Vanitas looked at him. It was almost as if he could see right through him, his gaze and body language making him shiver. “I… feel like there’s a ‘but’ to this,” he finally got out, inching a little down the bench.   
  
_ ‘Come back,’ _ whispered his mind, and Vanitas pushed down his pining heart. “There always is,” he said, keeping his cool as he straightened himself. “I can show you the pictures, but I really can’t do it on an empty stomach. And I haven’t had the chance to explore this place because of work.” He stood, turning back to Ventus. “I could use a local to help me find a good place to get breakfast… well, brunch,” he corrected himself after thinking for a moment, “and to give me a small tour around the city. That is, if the local happens to have free time and is a little hungry, too.”   
  
With his nose scrunching up in thought, Ventus rolled his wrist, the last contents of his soda sloshing in the can. Here he thought Vanitas was going to aim for something bigger with this promise of a sneak peek—not just a tour and a place to eat. Then again, Vanitas seemed like a man full of surprises, someone who arrived to oversee the safe delivery of an important museum collection, yet the same man who saved him from being a crumpled heap on the floor. What else did he expect from the child adopted by the business world’s very own Jack-of-all trades? Of course he wasn’t going to be exactly as the magazines painted him.   
  
Plus, unlike the magazines, the actual man himself looked a lot more attractive.    
  
Ventus was thankful his stomach started to growl, then. It would explain his flustered behavior a lot better.   
  
“A-Alright,” Ventus stood. “Come on. I know just the place.”

* * *

Delis always had this smell to them. Well, at least this one did, Vanitas noticed. The further you walked, the smokier the scent of meat became. He hoped there were tables set up outside, or else the strong smell would drive away his appetite.   
  
“Ven!” a man waved from behind the counter as soon as he finished with the customer before them. “Having the usual?”   
  
“Hi, Lea,” Ven greeted while he took a quick glance at the menu hanging from above. “Yeah. And some extra mustard and double the lettuce, please.” Ven turned to Vanitas. “They have the best sandwiches here, and Lea knows exactly how to toast the bread.”   
  
“Our bread is the first thing you taste, so you wanna avoid serving soggy or charred toast,” Lea nodded, looking proud of himself for his mastery of toasting. “You’re new to the city, aren't ya? Name’s Lea. Order whatever you like. I’ll give you a discount.”   
  
Vanitas raised a eyebrow. “Are you the owner?” The red hair and tattooed arms could have fooled him.

“Nah, my husband is,” Lea winked at Ventus. “Just don’t tell Isa. He doesn’t like it when I give discounts.”

“That’s because you give them to every new person you meet.” From the little order window behind Lea, a tall man with flour on his apron appeared, his stare piercing through the other. As Lea laughed, the other softened up a touch when he looked at Ventus and Vanitas. “But since it’s Ven’s new friend, I suppose I can make an exception.”   
  
Ventus laughed along with Lea, and Vanitas assured Isa he didn’t need a discount. If anything, he could have bought out the deli if he wanted to—but he wouldn’t do that. It would probably make Ventus upset. The businessman went ahead and got the same sandwich special as Ventus, and after picking their drinks from the freezers nearby, they were directed to the outside eating area; thankfully, the smell of the deli didn’t reach there. They sat across from one another, something Vanitas appreciated very much, although sitting side-by-side and bumping shoulders with Ventus would have been nice, too.   
  
He was getting  _ deep _ , but years upon years of separation would do that to a love-struck god.    
  
“So, you didn’t tell me,” Ventus started, breaking Vanitas’ gaze held on his ears—they looked so small and pink, with just a hint of freckles. He used to love nibbling on them. “I mean, you didn’t actually explain why you were at the museum this morning, unless it was about the tablets.” Blue eyes narrowed. “Which I hope you weren’t just saying to tease me.”   
  
Vanitas had been teasing him, but the tablets were real. He just liked watching Ventus get worked up over it. “They’re real. And hey, I’m a man of my word.” The CEO pulled his phone out and switched to his photos, sliding it over to the college student. “My brother took the photos himself.” 

He watched Ventus ogle the photos. He was looking more and more adorable as his smile grew at every new photo he came across, and he would mumbled a fact or two here and there about the photos of the carved rocks. Vanitas nodded along to what he said, taking a sip out of his iced tea from time to time. He loved this simple chatter between him and his beloved, or at least the reincarnation of his beloved.

‘ _That doesn’t matter,’_ Vanitas thought as his doubt was setting in again. It really liked to crawl onto his shoulder and slither bad thoughts into his head, no matter how many times he talked it down.  _ ‘It doesn’t matter what his name is now. His soul is still the same. It’s the same no matter what, even if he’s a different person and doesn’t remember who I am. His soul is calling out to me as much as it used to back when he _ — _ Persephone _ — _ was around. I can feel it. Even though I can’t really see it.’ _ Ventus laughed; it was music to Vanitas’ ears.  _ ‘If I still feel like this after all this time, even if he’s not Persephone anymore, then it’s fine. This is okay. I’m still in love with him and I’m sure… he loves me.’ _

Ventus was still laughing and now he was showing Vanitas his phone. Wait, why was he suddenly on the picture Terra took last summer? “You look like a boiled lobster!” he giggled.    
  
“Hey!” Vanitas made a grab for the phone, but Ventus ducked and tucked the phone to his chest. “I didn’t say you could swipe through the rest of my phone!”   
  
Ventus teased, “You didn’t tell me exactly when to stop swiping, either.” Vanitas scowled. Still, Ventus wasn’t wrong. The latter handed his phone back with a soft laugh. “Sorry, I swiped to it on accident,” he apologized, “It looked like your brothers were having a good time in the photo.”   
  
“Only after they got their shits and giggles,” Vanitas huffed. That was the last time he’d ever take a nap on a beach. “The sun just happened to be pretty bad that day.”

“I can tell.” Ventus returned the scowl with another one of his smiles; he really must know by now what those smiles did to Vanitas. By then, Lea had called their order number, and Ven stood just before Vanitas could. “I got them. You went ahead and paid for them, so it’s the least I can do,” he said, leaving Vanitas to marvel at this delight he’d never thought he’d see again as the blond went and came back with their food.    
  
Halfway through their toasted sandwiches and salty crisps, Ventus spoke. “But really, though. Why’d you come to the museum this morning?”   
  
“Guess I didn’t really say, huh?” After popping a crisp in his mouth and wiping his hands with a napkin, Vanitas pulled out the marble and handed it to Ventus, who wore a look of surprise. “The curator’s colleague told me this probably fell off your bag. She said it fell off a charm your brother gave you, so I thought you would want it back.”   
  
Ventus stared at the marble in his hand, the sphere glittering in the sun. “You went out of your way to bring this back to me?”   
  
Well, when he put it like that... “You’re saying I shouldn’t have?”   
  
“Oh no! I’m not ungrateful or anything!” Ventus assured, nearly dropping the marble in the process. “Seriously, thanks for returning it. I never would have noticed it was gone, but I would have been really bummed out if I had.” As he said this, he pulled his messenger bag onto his lap and showed Vanitas the vacant spot the marble once occupied. “The charm’s a miniature version of my brother’s first trophy,” he explained with a proud smile. “I’ve had it ever since middle school, but I guess the glue is starting to finally wear off.”   
  
It was supposed to be a trophy? Vanitas couldn’t tell with how weirdly the metal was twisted. It reminded him more of an infinity knot. “Well, I’m glad I found it.” He was really glad to have made Ventus smile more, though.

“Yeah,” Ventus agreed, taking smaller nibble out of his sandwich. “It gave us the chance to meet up again. This has been a lot of fun.”   
  
“Same here.” It meant more to Vanitas than Ventus would ever know. “I hope this means that tour I asked for is still on the table.”   
  
“Well,” Ventus slid his marble into his bag, “I can, but can I show you around tomorrow, if you aren’t busy? I have some things planned later today, actually.”   
  
“I have some calls to make, and I have to go to the museum again tomorrow, so I’m not sure.” As he said this, he felt his heart drop. Vanitas wanted to spend as much time as possible with Ventus. Why did they have to suddenly be busy now?   
  
“I think I can spare an hour or two right now, and I do have time on Saturday.” Vanitas’ heart perked up. “I have class in the morning, but I have some free time at noon. I can buy you lunch after you bought mine, and then I can show you around,” Ventus offered.   
  
“You don’t need to-” Vanitas started, but the blond stopped him.   
  
“You found my marble and went out of your way to return it to me. I think I owe you some lunch, to say the least,” Ventus said. “Alright?”   
  
Vanitas found out that, just like Persephone, he couldn’t bring himself to argue with Ventus even if he wanted to, including right now. Besides, if he disagreed with him now, he would miss on his chance to hang out with him more, and that was a chance he was not willing to pass up on.   


* * *

“Excuse me,” Namine bustled her way over to a few cubicle hermits as she walked out of the elevator. “Do you know where Mr. Harte is?”   
  
All three men pointed in different directions.   
  
Right. “Do you know where Mr. Terra Harte is?”   
  
Two of the men put their fingers down. The looks of terror they held on their faces quickly vanished.   
  
Namine smiled. “Thank you.” And she was on her way.   
  
Those men must have been new on the job and had gotten a glimpse of Ansem’s monthly bitch-face event, something that usually occurred whenever Ansem was acting like a spoiled brat. Judging by the looks on their faces, they had suffered the brunt of it. Namine sighed. Thankfully it was only a monthly thing, otherwise they wouldn’t have any more employees.   
  
Following the newbie’s directions, she crossed a catwalk that hung over the care and handling warehouse of the building and spotted Terra nearby. He wouldn’t be too hard to miss, what with his staggering height. “Mr. Harte!” she called as she walked over. “Your brother needs more photos of the exhibit—the one being set up in Daybreak City.”   
  
“Vanitas needs them?” Terra blinked. “Oh, okay. How come he didn’t message me himself, though?”   
  
“Judging by his phone call, he sounded busy,” replied Namine, “...with someone.” Something about her voice made Terra do a double-take.   
  
“No way, you mean he was on a date or something?” he asked, spotting the secretary’s smile. “Oh man, he is, isn’t he? That’s the reason why he’s extending his stay over there. Give me the details.”   
  
“I didn’t really get much, but from what I heard, he’s having a good time,” said Namine, unable to stop her smile from growing. “I could hear someone talking about art history in the background, and then Mr. Harte started laughing-”   
  
“Laughing?”   
  
“He can laugh! I’m sure you’ve seen him laugh plenty of times.” When Terra shrugged, Namine shook off her shock as soon as it came. She should have known. “Anyway, it sounded like he was really hitting it off with whoever he was with. I was going to guess he made a new friend, but,” Namine walked a little beside the co-CEO as she spoke, “I can feel that it’s more than that. You saw him before he left for Daybreak, right? He wasn’t doing so well.”   
  
Terra understood. Vanitas had looked under the weather before he left home. Even as his little brother scoffed and said he was okay, the brunet knew there was more to it than just illness. Vanitas rarely turned quiet and discontent, but when he did, his older brother grew concerned. Because of their family, Terra considered himself to be the one who was the closest to Vanitas, with the exception of Namine. He had seen the young man at his best and his worst, if not a layer of what he hid from everyone else. Now, hearing his little brother had become enamored over someone made him hope that this could be the salve to his moments of isolation.    
  
“And now he’s met someone who makes him feel better,” Terra smiled, already having his phone out and looking through some quick photos he had taken. “I’ll send him some in a few hours, when he’s not busy on his date,” Terra winked, causing Namine to giggle behind her hand. Good. He was glad he managed to make someone smile today. “I need to send these to the curator of the museum, anyway. He sounded pretty wrung out on the phone.”   
  
“It was about those art robberies, right? You can’t really blame him for being nervous, since he runs the museum,” said the secretary. As Terra nodded, she sighed. “Really, I almost want to believe the calling cards the thief leaves behind. Returning the goods to their rightful owners? They sound like Robin Hood.” She had a dreamy look in her eyes.

“I know what you mean, but they haven’t really given proof that those stolen pieces actually belonged to someone else,” said Terra with a small frown, “and if they were returned to someone, I’m sure the owners would have come forward and returned the pieces, since they would be arrested if they were found out. I bet most of those stolen pieces have already been sold on the black market for a quick buck.” He ran his fingers through his hair as his thoughts went back to the robberies. He had formed the best security team he could for situations like these. There was no way anyone could get past them, but why were his fingers twitching? Why was he getting all antsy if he was sure the robber wouldn’t slip past his security team? “Still,” he said after some nervous thoughts, “I guess I should triple check with the curator to make sure everything is going okay. Can you leave a message for Vanitas and tell him to call me later too, Namine?”

“Already on it, sir,” she confirmed, writing down the reminder in her loopy bubble print. “Should I have a flower arrangement set up for his date, while I’m at it?”   
  
“Not just yet,” Terra held up a hand. “First we got to see if whoever this is can stand to be with my brother for at least a week.”

* * *

Ventus needed to leave.   
  
Not because of Vanitas, though, no. Spending time with him for the past two hours had been pretty fun. While the co-CEO did come off as a little blunt and his ego did rear its head every now and then, it was made up for by his honesty and how he could take a few punches and accept them when he knew he did something wrong—which was a lot, especially when it came to history. Vanitas spoke almost as if he had actually been around to see what happened in the last thousand years, with the confidence to back it up. Ventus would argue with his own facts, and the two would squabble on until they both realized they were having fun debating one another, even laughing as Ventus grew tongue-tied after a frazzling argument.   
  
He was one of the most honest people Ventus had ever come across, something that was rare in Ventus’ life. Ventus appreciated him for that, and it made him want to stick around longer.   
  
But he needed to leave.   
  
“Have the rest if you want it,” said Vanitas as Ventus almost handed the bag of cotton candy back to him, nearly empty. “My teeth are already starting to rot. I haven’t had cotton candy in a long time.”   
  
“Oh, thanks!” Ventus beamed, stuffing another wad of the fluffy candy into his mouth. The sugar crinkled in his ears. “Thanks for letting me buy it this time.”   
  
“We would have stood in front of the vendor for another hour if I didn’t let you.” Vanitas rolled his eyes, but Ventus could tell he was amused. Deciding who was going to pay for the cotton candy was something else they bickered about but, like most of their debates, it was playful, if anything. Surprisingly, it felt really natural, too. “But no problem,” Vanitas waved his hand as they stood on a street lined with shops and apartment buildings, Ventus walking over to a little bakery that sat on the corner of the street.   
  
“I’d invite you in, but it looks like my dad is getting ready for the dinner rush.” He caught the confused look on Vanitas’ face. “If you’ve never seen how many people use bread for their dinners and desserts, then I’m gonna start thinking you aren’t human.”   
  
“I’m plenty human.” Vanitas’ lips turned up with a smirk. “I’m like any other greedy bastard out there.”    
  
“I find that hard to believe.” It was supposed to come off as sarcastic, but Ventus’ next words came out as sweet as cotton candy, “Because I like being around you.”   
  
In sync, their hearts started to hammer against their chests. Ventus started to feel a little light-headed, and Vanitas was sure he was going to trip over those words. They would have crashed into one another if their faces got any hotter.    
  
“Christ,” Vanitas pressed his palm against his forehead and raked his bangs back, black strands falling over his eyes as he took in the flustered man before him. “You know how to make a greedy bastard swoon.”   
  
“Stop calling yourself that.” The command was hushed but serious, and Ventus honestly had no idea where  _ that _ had come from. “Uh… I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me.” His eyes were starting to sting like he was frustrated. What was up with him?

Vanitas stared at him as he started to wipe his eyes sheepishly. He caught those tears starting to pinprick in the corner of his eyes. “Ventus,” he started, taking a step forward, worried, “Are you-”   
  
“Ven!” The door to the bakery opened and a tall woman with blue eyes like Ventus’ came out. “I was heading to the store to get dad some ingredients for tonight, and-” She stopped as soon as she saw the tears. “Hey, are you alright?” Her eyes landed on Vanitas, and again she asked, a little more firmly this time. “Are you alright?” She was still looking at Vanitas, her concerned look turning into a protective one.    
  
“I’m fine, Aqua. I am,” Ventus laughed, thankful that it came out without any of his sudden tears that would make it seemed forced. “I think I’m still feeling a little sick. My eyes feel a little swollen, that’s all,” he promised.   
  
Aqua was still giving Vanitas the side-eye. Vanitas stared right back at her, having dealt with worse. If she wanted to say anything, she could say it right to his face. He could take it and throw it back at her, although his thoughts were focused on the fallen soul before him.   
  
“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked, ignoring Aqua.   
  
Ventus waved his hand, looking tired about having two mother hens trying to look after him. “I’m fine, I’m fine,” he said, his eyes a little bloodshot, but otherwise, he looked okay. “Aqua, this is Vanitas. He’s a friend I made at the museum,” he continued, gesturing between the two of them. “Vanitas, this is Aqua, my sister.”   
  
“Nice to meet you.” Vanitas nearly pulled a muscle trying to say that. It looked like Aqua did too as she returned the words.    
  
“Ven,” she addressed her brother again, “I might need your help getting the ingredients. Dad’s expecting a lot of customers tonight since it’s the weekend. Would you mind?”   
  
He would mind, actually. He had things to do. But Ventus still smiled and nodded at his sister. “Sure, I can study after dinner. I was probably gonna do that anyway,” he said. “Sorry I have to leave all of a sudden. I wish we could have spent more time today.”   
  
_ ‘So do I. I thought for a second…’ _ Vanitas kept his thoughts where they belonged and shook his head. “It’s cool. We still have Saturday planned, right?” Ventus’ lips turned up in a small smile. Why did they have to look so plush when he did that? “Cool. Then I'll see you later.”   
  
“Saturday, noon, at the museum,” Ventus recited the plan as Vanitas turned and walked off. Even if he couldn’t see him, Ventus waved with a huge grin. “Bye! Thanks for lunch! I’ll see you later!”   
  
Vanitas raised a hand in a silent wave before he disappeared behind the corner.   
  
“How long have you known him?” asked Aqua as they walked over to her car, a silvery-blue Honda with a lei hanging from the rearview mirror.   
  
“Since yesterday,” chirped her brother.   
  
“He seems a little…” Whatever Aqua was going to say, she stopped herself. Ventus appreciated that. He had told her he was old enough to make his own decisions ever since he started college. She was the best big sister a person could ever ask for, her loving nature sweet, though it could be a little suffocating from time to time. “Anyway, let’s go pick up that stuff. Dad said he needs a few more bottles of vanilla extract and yeast, and you know how many people go crazy for his banana bread, so we need to pack the back with tons of bananas.”   
  
Ventus nodded and texted what they needed on his phone, slowly forgetting about what had just happened earlier.

* * *

Vanitas couldn’t forget what happened. That was the last thing he expected to happen tonight. He thought for sure the dizzy spell he helped Ventus get through was the most he was going to see of his lost love, but maybe those were just his memories trying to force him to remember? Maybe it was Persephone? No. Maybe it was his soul?   
  
Persephone used to get upset whenever he belittled himself like that. Maybe the soul reacted to something it was familiar with? If that was the case, Vanitas had no idea why it was doing that. In his line of work, souls were like the the fires of hearths, occupying and bringing warmth and life until they flickered and burned to nothing but ashes. Souls remained stagnant until their host body eventually died out. In the olden days, they were sent to him to be watched over until it was decided if they would return to the mortal realm to be reborn into a new person or sent below to be put to work. Somehow, there was a problem with this particular soul.   
  
Persephone had been a god. And though gods could be killed like any other living being, they could never truly die. Only if they were no longer believed in, worshipped, or remembered, did they cease to exist. Thanks to stories and history, all gods were still remembered. That was how he was still walking upon this earth. Even though gods did possess souls, Vanitas had not received his true love’s after Persephone’s passing.   
  
He had worn that cold, mind-boggling truth like shackles for so long. What had happened to Persephone? Why was his body cold when Vanitas gathered him in his arms that day? Why did his ethereal glow turn dim? Why did the blossoms barely budding in his hair wither and shrivel away? Why did he die?    
  
Vanitas gripped at his steering wheel, suddenly feeling it was not wise to drive so late at night, even though he was just heading back to his hotel. At the nearest stoplight, he took a moment to breathe, already missing the weight of the marble he had in his pocket this morning. He wished he had kept it.

‘ _Get ahold of yourself,’_ he thought as he looked at the rear view mirror.  _ ‘The past is in the past. Feeling like this? All this regret and sadness? It should be gone. Because he’s here. And you know exactly what to do. You were married, for fuck’s sake.’ _ His confidence was returning, a fire burning in his gut as he stared back at his reflection.  _ ‘He was your husband. You know what he likes. You know that somewhere, a part of him must like you, too. He even said it himself. You just have to do what you did before.’ _

Well, maybe he didn’t have to do  _ exactly  _ what he did before. He still remembered Persephone was pretty pissed at him over the impromptu kidnapping, even after they tied the knot.  _ ‘It’s not like I was some stranger, though.’  _ That didn’t help his case at all.  _ ‘Either way, you’ve done good without thinking too hard about this. You got this. You should have no problem doing something like this. After all,’ _ his eyes glowed as bright as the fire burned stronger in his belly,  _ ‘you’re Hades, Lord of the fucking Underworld.’  _

The second after his self-pep talk, his phone rang with a notification. ‘CALL TINY’ blared across the screen. “Oh, yeah,” His eyes simmered back to dark brown, and he continued his drive as he dialed a number and switched to bluetooth. “Hey, Namine said you wanted to talk earlier. What's-”

_ “Vanitas, I need you to get to the museum right now,”  _ said Terra, a serious bite in his tone.  _ “Someone is going to steal from the Greek collection.” _   


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Get ready for Wayward Wind to make his appearance! Hmm, I wonder who this guys is c: Anyway, thanks so much for your support, again! You guys always motivate me to write more and I could not be anymore grateful to you guys ;w; I hope you have a blast with KH3!! See you in the next update!!!


	4. The Timid Love Goddess

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vanitas starts his search for Wayward Wind, with an unexpected alley making their appearance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! I am so terribly sorry for the delay! I will come clean and say that my own playthough of KH3 was a reason why and I am terribly sorry for that. I promise that weekly updates are coming back! Seriously, thank you all so much for your patience. I hope everyone had a good time playing KH3 and had lovely days in general ^^ Thank you all so much for being patient. I have some stuff to say at the end of the chapter so please read all the way through ^^ I would very much appreciate it. Thanks so much to waywardriot for editing the chapter and making it look so incredible! He is the greatest!!! ^A^ Hope you guys enjoy the chapter!

“You know,” Vanitas pinched the bridge of his nose and shut his eyes, breathing in to control his temper and to wake himself up. He should be back at his hotel and sleeping by now, but no, he was out here, possibly at the tail end of some kind of prank. “I could have come here and handled this in the  _ morning _ , Terra,” he growled, breathing out his annoyance. 

_ “Hey, don’t shoot the messenger,”  _ countered his brother over the phone.  _ “The curator was just shouting about the Greek collection and a calling card and I couldn’t get a word in edgewise. I thought someone had actually got past the security system and guards.” _

“Someone did.” Vanitas leaned against a wall and watched the men in blue roam around the room for evidence, scrubbing each floor and wall of the Greek exhibit. He realized that this was definitely not a prank, now that he was taking a better look at it. “And they did a good job of looking like they didn’t.”

_ “No broken windows? None of the alarms were tampered with?” _

“The only thing they tampered with were the cameras.” Vanitas walked over to one of them and looked as close as he could, spotting the black liquid that coated the lenses. “Used some sort of paint or tar to smudge up the cameras. Security couldn’t see what they looked like or where they came from.”

_ “Shit.” _

“Language.” Vanitas chuckled, despite what was going on.

_ “This is serious,”  _ answered Terra with a frown in his voice.

“I’m not saying it isn’t,” Vanitas shrugged, even though Terra couldn’t see it. “Look, I know how serious this is. The old man sent me here to make sure shit like this didn’t happen.” Vanitas combed his fingers through his hair—he was starting to pick up on Ira’s habits. “It’s my ass that’s gonna be busted for this.”

_ “You don’t sound like someone who knows this.” _

“That’s because I’m not going to let whoever did this steal anything.” Vanitas glanced at the calling card that was being bagged by the police. “No one touches my shit,” he added under his breath.

_ “I can’t tell if you’re taking this too seriously or not seriously enough.” _

Ignoring that, Vanitas walked over to the policemen and pulled away from his phone. “I need to see that card again.”

_ “They just let you do that?”  _ Terra sounded bewildered as his brother was handed the green card.  _ “What kind of police do they have over there?” _

‘ _The kind that know you got better things to do. Like sleeping,’_ he thought. Vanitas was pretty sure they only handed the card over once they saw how tired and annoyed he looked. They knew not to waste his time.

Yawning, Vanitas flipped over the card and recited the golden text printed on it. “‘The remains of this once-beloved temple rightfully belong to the descendants of the caretakers who poured their hearts and souls into its creation. Their devotion to the gods shines through every last statue and vase. Hence, on opening night of this exhibit’s debut, I shall steal the entire collection and return it to its rightful owners. I send this calling card to you as a forewarning; I will not harm anyone, but I will defend myself if necessary.’” Vanitas scoffed. It was the softest threat he had ever heard in his life. “Blah, blah, blah. Justice and all that crap. Signed, Wayward Wind.” Vanitas laughed. “Doesn’t sound real, huh?”

_ “It is real. You need to put your money where your mouth is and make sure the exhibit goes down without a hitch,”  _ said Terra as Vanitas handed the card back to the police.  _ “I’m going to send more security guards and get a new security system set for the exhibit. That should at least help us spot this Wayward Wind if they actually keep their word.” _

“This could still be some kind of prank,” Vanitas offered. “Maybe some kids actually managed to hide around here after closing and set up the card and mess with the cameras for shits and giggles.” Although, no one had been found in the museum once the calling card was found, nor had anyone been seen fleeing through any of the entrances.

_ “I’ll believe that on opening night, with the exhibit still intact.”  _ Terra sighed.  _ “It’s getting late. Finish up things with the curator and head back to your hotel after, okay? I’m sorry I had to drag you out of bed for this.” _

“You’re gonna owe me big time for this,” stated Vanitas.

Terra laughed, his stress seeming to leave.  _ “I always do. If you want, I can head over there and handle it all myself while you can head back home-“ _

“Yeah, so you can go lounge at the beach and enjoy the sights while I get stuck on desk duty?” Vanitas snorted. “I don’t think so.”

_ “Vanitas, you don’t even like the beach.” _

“And whose fault do you think that was?”

_ “I said I was sorry!” _

“After you laughed so hard that you fell into the water and got sand up your ass.”

_ “You kicked me in the shin and made me fall!”  _ Again, Terra was laughing, and Vanitas bit the corner of his mouth to keep from joining him. He wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction.  _ “Alright,”  _ Terra was probably wiping the tears from his laughter as he spoke.  _ “I’ll find another way to pay you back for this. You sure you don’t want to come home, though? I thought you would have gotten bored by now.” _

‘ _Can’t be bored when I know that Ventus is here,’_ thought Vanitas, swallowing as he remembered what had happened earlier in the day. He could still hear the concern and frustration in his voice. “I’m sure. I need more time away from you and the last two brain cells burning away at the office.”

_ “We love you too, Vanitas,”  _ said Terra. Vanitas made a noise of disgust, making Terra laugh again.  _ “Take care, alright? And make sure you introduce us to whoever you’re seeing over there.” _

Vanitas nearly tripped. “What?”

_ “Ask Namine. Bye!”  _ And then he hung up, leaving Vanitas to wonder just what his secretary was babbling about behind his back.

“Mr. Harte.” Ira came bustling over, stopping Vanitas from calling Namine to give her a piece of his mind, and nearly bowed his whole upper body. “I am so, so sorry for having you rush over here this late.”

“It’s nothing. I was nearby anyway,” replied Vanitas with his hands raised. “ _ Harte Enterprise  _ promised to give you excellent service; that includes stuff like this since all the pieces haven’t made it yet.” Vanitas took another look around the room. “So the card was the only thing that was left here? And no one else saw anyone come in or come out of the museum?”

Ira shook his head. “No, I don’t believe so,” he said, running his fingers through his hair. It looked like he had just gotten out of bed —Vanitas could see the pinstripes of his pajama shirt hiding behind the gap of his coat’s neckline. “Just the card, no evidence. Whoever left it here was extra careful. Security always makes two extra patrols in and out of the museum, so they should have been able to catch someone trying to sneak in. So should the cameras.” The curator sighed and shook his head at the smudged-up cameras. “We can’t let this Wayward Wind make off with the collection. The museum needs this opening night.”

‘ _Yeah, plus most of this stuff is mine,’_ Vanitas thought with a frown. He had a handful of people trying to steal relics from his past, back when he was on his own—a lot of weasels who thought they could get away scott-free and make a quick buck. Not with Vanitas still around and kicking, though. He didn’t let them get away with it, and the same was in for this thief if they thought they were going to make off with his stuff.  _ ‘No one touches my shit,’  _ he thought again.

“Terra is sending more security personnel as we speak,” promised the young businessman. “And he’s going ahead and having your security system replaced, free of charge.”

“Oh!” Ira quickly shook his head. “He doesn’t have-“

“He doesn’t, but he already did.” That was his step-brother, sickeningly kind and soft-hearted. People would have been able to walk all over him like a doormat if he didn’t have a brain. Fortunately, he did. It was small, but it was there—at least Vanitas was sure it was. “Don’t worry about it. It comes with the security,” assured Vanitas as he pulled out his phone, already filled with pictures of the crime scene and the calling card. “I’ll do some digging around myself. Can’t have the exhibit disappearing on us overnight.”

“But, ah-“ Ira walked beside him as Vanitas made another trip around the room, snapping some photos of things he might have missed. “What if the thief comes back tonight? Or tomorrow night?”

“Well, the card would have been a great way to throw you off, and they could try that. But no,” Vanitas shook his head, “One way or another, this has already been leaked to the press. You’re gonna be swarmed with reporters—people who want to know what the museum is going to do about this phantom thief that’s been making rounds across the state. The thief won’t try if an audience that big comes up and sticks around. Besides, you saw this, right?” Vanitas swiped over to the photo of the calling card. “This is the most dramatic and extra thing I’ve seen here. This clown wants to make this whole thing seem authentic— _ real _ . They’d want people to see what they’ve done  _ after  _ they steal the treasure, not before. That little warning they added? It gets people curious. Basically,” Vanitas’ lips pulled back into a smirk, “the guy wants to steal and make sure they got the right audience as soon as they make the heist.”

“The guests for opening night?” guessed Ira.

“Yeah,” Vanitas nodded. “They steal the exhibit, the guests see they run off with it, the guests talk and gossip about it, Wayward Wind becomes well-known and becomes more of a legend.”

“But,” Ira’s eyebrows frown with confusion, “why? That makes no sense.”

“That’s what I’m going to find out.” Vanitas crossed his arms over his chest, looking to the side. “Shouldn’t be too hard to figure out.”

* * *

Actually, it was a lot harder than he thought.

Vanitas had slept in that morning and decided to make his base of operations in a cafe just a few blocks away from his hotel. He had his pictures and a few articles about Wayward Wind stacked around him, and his phone was open on what had happened at the museum, though it only helped so much since the reporters were just as clueless as him. The only information that had a semblance of usefulness was the picture of the calling card and the text that was written on it.

Whoever had left it had been careful not to leave fingerprints, meaning they had done this several times before. They were an expert, and if they had the brains to back up on their experience, then the tidbit about returning the collection to their rightful owners could be true.

‘ _It’s pretty far-fetched, though.’_ Vanitas shook his head as he took a sip of his coffee.  _ ‘Someone would have come forward about that. There’s no way anyone could keep quiet about it. It’d be all over the news in no time.’  _ He sighed, flipping to the next article.

If there were actual descendants, someone was bound to have squealed, and even if they didn’t, he would have found out somehow. His past always found a way to come back to him.

‘ _Like Ventus.’_ And somehow, all the stress that had built up in the CEO’s core washed away when he thought of his blond-haired beauty. It was hard for him to not think about him almost everyday, his dreams filled with memories of the past and his heart thundering at the thought of their meetup on Friday.  _ ‘I need to think of something we could do that day, while we’re at it. Or maybe I should let him choose since he’s lived here longer? Damn, I want to think more about it, but I got to clear this shit up first.’  _ He cursed under his breath, glaring at the calling card’s photo again.  _ ‘Thanks for the trouble, Wayward Wind,’  _ he thought bitterly.

He skimmed over false claims and eye-witness accounts, one standing out amongst the others. Several people had claimed that before Wayward Wind made their appearance, many people were listed as suspects due to how frequent they appeared near the crime scene, before the crime ever took place. One of them could possibly be a lead.

Vanitas stood and gathered his papers, leaving the money for his coffee on the table and hurrying out of the cafe. He needed to look around some more, and find some place that could be a hot spot for a thief. He had a stop to make.

* * *

“Dad!” Ventus pulled away from the crack of the oven, a warm, buttery, and sugary smell filling the kitchen. “The muffins are ready!”

“Set them in the display window and then do the same for the cookies!” called his father from the front. “We need two dozen sugar cookies and a few fresh rolls!”

Ventus did as he was told, carefully pulling the muffins out of the hot oven and setting the timer for the next batch. He made his way to the front of the bakery and smiled at the kids who peeked up at the muffins he had just brought in. “We have smaller samples of these by the counter if you want to try them,” he laughed as they all hurried to the counter, possibly bombarding his sister and father with hungry stomachs.

The little bakery was calming down from the morning rush they’d had earlier, but there were still plenty of shoppers coming and going for treats. The empty shelves that needed constant refilling soon had enough bread for ready-to-buy shoppers. They wouldn’t need to stock up so soon again.

After restocking the muffins and cookies, Ventus walked over to the counter just as his father finished up with another customer. “Need anymore help, dad?”

“Not for a while,” replied his father as he wiped his hands on his apron, only getting more flour on them. “It’s thanks to my two favorite helpers that I got this all done before the lunch rush.”

“That’s going to be in less than an hour,” Aqua stretched and laughed, “and that’s even more hectic since people want ice cream around then.”

She was right. Even though the business was small, they could get pretty busy. Their father baked the best home goods and kept the little shop running the way he always had, ever since he opened it. The great food and the way he ran the place gave the bakery its charm.

“That’s right!” Their father turned to Ventus. “You’re on ice cream duty, alright, Ven?”

“Aye-aye, sir.” With a mock-salute and a cheeky grin, Ven walked to the little ice cream freezer they had at the corner of the shop. It wasn’t the fanciest set-up, but it had a chair, a nice view through one of the giant glass windows, and most importantly, the ice cream. Just as Ven sat in his chair, Vanitas walked through the door.

“Hey!” he greeted with a smile, standing up again. “I didn’t think you would come to the shop.”

“This was the only other place I thought I’d find you,” said Vanitas with his hands in his pockets. He took a little look around the place; the kitchen was situated in the back with the counter, an array of convenience store snacks there as well. Little shelves with baskets full of all kinds of bread and treats decorated the sandy-colored walls. Aside from the ice cream freezer, everything else was dedicated the baked goods. It had a homey feel to it.

“Well, besides the museum,” he added after a moment.

“Oh crap,” Ventus winced. “I saw the news this morning. Is the exhibit alright? Was anything stolen?” From nearby, Vanitas could see Aqua eyeballing him suspiciously, and a man with blonde hair looking at them both curiously. That had to be Ventus’ father.

“Nah, nothing was stolen,” replied Vanitas, watching Ven sigh with relief. For him, it must have been scary to have one of his favorite places disturbed—it was endearing. “Someone did break in, but the police are guessing it’s some prank. So don’t worry about it.”

“Alright, if you say so,” replied Ventus with a smile. Vanitas’ heart raced. “So what brings you here? You hungry? Want an ice cream?”

“I think I’ll pass, but maybe later.” Vanitas glanced at the frozen treats for a moment before looking back to the college student. “I was wondering if I could get a suggestion from you.”

“Suggestion?” Ventus tilted his head in confusion.

“Yeah. I’m trying to find a place like the museum, or something like it,” he explained. Ventus didn’t need to know the actual reason why. It would probably worry him. “My company wants to expand the businesses it does deliveries with, preferably places like the museum that need a lot of items moved around. Any place come to mind?”

“Well,” Ventus crossed one of his legs over the other and thought for a moment, “the only place I can think of would be the giant library at SU,” he said after he thought for awhile, looking up at Vanitas; those glasses and apron he wore almost made Vanitas forget what he had just asked. “My class goes there from time to time. They have some smaller exhibits like this giant world map and these old books dated back to when Daybreak City was just a town.”

“SU? A university?”

“Yeah, Sunset University,” said Ventus as he threw his thumb in his sister's direction. “Aqua goes there, too. She drives me back home after classes.”

“I see.” Vanitas could feel Aqua boring her eyes into his skull. Even when he wasn’t looking at her, she had an issue with him. “Alright, I’ll go check it out for myself. Thanks.”

“No problem,” Ventus beamed. “I’d wanna chat more, but I have to be ready for the lunch rush coming in.” Ventus tapped on the freezer, wiggling his eyebrows. “Sure you don’t want a scoop?”

Vanitas raised an eyebrow. “I could be lactose intolerant, y’know.”

Ventus balked. “A-Are you? I-I’m sorry, I-“

Vanitas snickered. “I’m kidding.” While Ventus was sputtering and trying to find the right comeback, the black-haired man pulled out his wallet. “And alright, you sold me. I’ll take a vanilla to go.”

With a blush and a poor attempt at a scowl, Ventus handed Vanitas his ice cream. He wasn’t sure what to make of this man, but still, he was fun to have around—even when he teased him.

“See you on Saturday.” Vanitas said his goodbyes and nodded at Ventus’ family, leaving the store with his ice cream in hand.

Ventus watched him disappear through the window and sighed, rubbing circles into the hemline of his apron.

“Well, he was pretty nice,” said Ventus’ father.

“He’s something.” Aqua was staring at the window too, before she looked at her little brother. “Right, Ven?”

“Yeah,” Ven placed his hands over his chest, his heart suddenly aching. “He really is.”

* * *

Sunset university lived up to its name once the sun began to drop to the horizon. The orange and creamy walls of the buildings stood out against the shadows casted by its trees. A statue of a bull greeted those who ventured to the library, and the building itself could be recognized by the clock tower in the center. Vanitas would have missed it, were it not for either landmark.

As Vanitas made his way over, he stopped when a great presence washed over him. As if someone was pouring ice water down his back, his feet suddenly felt glued to the floor. Something brushed against his arm and he immediately spun around, his eyes flashing with pent-up power.

The young man in front of him was tall and built like a brick wall. Vanitas didn’t dare raise his chin to look up at him; he was too prideful for that.

“Yes?” he all but growled, apprehensive even as the young man took a step back and said nothing. Vanitas could barely make out his expression through his long, silver hair.

“Riku!” A short girl came jogging over a second later, huffing with a worried expression on her face. “You need to ask people for a moment of their time first. You can’t just wall them in.”

“Sorry, Xion,” mumbled Riku, shifting the papers he was carrying—so that was what had brushed against Vanitas’ arm earlier.

“It’s okay,” Xion patted the tree of a man on the arm. “I’ll handle this part of campus, and you take care of the quad. I’ll meet up with you in a few minutes,” she promised. Vanitas nearly missed the young man’s blue eyes darting between the him and the girl. “Go on.” Xion shooed him away, and soon, Riku walked off. “Sorry about that. He isn’t a guy of many words, but he’s really sweet.”

“Sure.” Vanitas shrugged off the feeling he had earlier. It must have been the weather getting to him. “Well, if that’s it, I gotta go.”

“Oh, wait!” The girl stopped him before he could take another step. “Um,” she hesitated, biting her bottom lip. “Ah, well…” Now, she was fidgeting with the papers in her hands, looking extremely nervous. Was he missing something?

“Yeah?” he asked, looking between her and the papers. Was she trying to muster up the courage to ask him to go to whatever the flyers were made for? If so, she was doing a terrible job at it. “Look, I really don’t have all day,” he said, his usual patience in public wearing thin after his encounter with the giant.

“O-Oh! I understand,” she nodded, stepping out of his way. “S-Sorry. I’ll see you around, Hades.”

“Yeah, I’ll-” Silence. Because that name was all it took to steal all the words out of Vanitas’ mouth. That ice-cold feeling came over him again, like a giant burst of cool air from an AC. It suddenly made his stomach flop, his wide eyes drawn to Xion’s as they flashed timidly for a moment. Of course. How could have have forgotten?

“Eros,” he sighed.

Xion smiled weakly. “It’s Xion now, actually, but you can call me Eros if you want. It’s been a while since anyone’s said it.”

“What are you doing?” Vanitas took a moment to take a better look at the goddess of love. She was smaller than the last time he had seen her, her hair shorter and voice different, too. She looked just as human as he, though he still couldn’t fathom why. “What are you doing here?” he corrected himself.

“I wanted to…” she squeezed her papers to her chest, “to apologize to you again?”

“Nice try.” Vanitas was not impressed but he went easy on her. She wasn’t one to start trouble like the other gods. “You apologized dozens of decades ago. I doubt that you would still feel sorry for that.”

“I still do, though,” mumbled Xion as she looked down at her feet. “After all, I made you and Persephone go through that big fight after your wedding-”

“Hey,” Vanitas interrupted her. “Look, I know you do, but I don’t want to hear that again after we already forgave you.” Well, more like Persephone did; it took a lot of convincing from him to make Vanitas forgive her, too. “Besides, it was a mistake, and it’s in the past. It’s done. Now,” Vanitas crossed his arms over his chest, “tell me what’s really going on. Did Apollo send you?”

“I…” Xion sighed and nodded. “Sort of. He asked me to look for you and see how you were doing while I was down here.”

Leave it to Apollo to send other gods off to run errands for him while he moped in his room. Vanitas was going to give him an earful the next time he saw him. “Alright. You can tell him and everyone I’m fine. What’s the other reason?”

“That place,” Xion pointed behind her, towards the library. “It used to house an old sky map that Asteria made.”

“Alright, there’s no way mortals could have gotten their hands on that,” Vanitas shook his head.

“I thought the same thing, but Asteria is sure it’s one of hers,” said Xion. “She thinks Zeus must have thrown it off Olympia just to mess with her hundreds of years ago.”

“Fuck Zeus.” Vanitas rolled his eyes. Of course the idiot would have done something so childish when he didn’t get his way (with anyone with a pulse). Knowing this, it did sound possible that one of Asteria’s maps could have fallen into the hands of some humans. “You’re here to get it back, then?”

“I was. But when I got here, the map was gone,” Xion nodded erratically at Vanitas’ surprised expression. “Yeah! That’s how I looked when I heard it, too! So I’ve been here for a while, trying to figure out what happened. And it turns out that… that someone stole the map. Someone actually robbed the library!”

A name as clear as day crossed Vanitas’ thoughts.  _ ‘Wayward Wind.’  _ It couldn’t be a coincidence.

“Eros,” Vanitas stopped, remembering where they were. “Xion. Let’s talk somewhere else.”

* * *

_ They met all because of Eros. _

_ Persephone was confused when Eros suddenly appeared from the tall grass of the field, that day he and his mother traveled to the lake. _

_ “Lady Demeter!” she greeted with a curtsy, her stola covered in flower petals. “Is it alright if Persephone comes and plays with me across the lake? There’s a new patch of dry earth that simply needs his magic touch!” _

_ Persephone looked up at his mother with hope in his eyes. “Please?” he begged softly. _

_ “You act as if I treat you like a prisoner, sweetheart.” Still, it took a while before Demeter released his hand, kneeling down and pressing a kiss on his forehead. “For good luck, and a promise that you will return to me.” She smiled as she pulled away and stood. “Promise me that you will both be careful and hurry back before it gets dark. I’ll come looking for you if you do not,” she warned. _

_ “We promise!” the young teenagers chorused before they hurried off across the lake, hand-in-hand. _

_ “So, where’s the part of the lake you want me to take care of?” asked Persephone once they reached the other side of the lake, rubbing his palms together in determination. He could easily walk upon the patch of dirt and make flowers appeared, but toiling the ground and planting seedlings was a lot more fun. His mother never let him get his hands dirty. _

_ “Actually,” Eros said with a smile, “there’s this really cool thing I want to show you. It just appeared out of nowhere, and I really wanted to show someone!” _

_ “Huh?” Persephone wore a confused look as the young goddess took him by the hand and led him through the tall grass she had came out of. “Why me?” he asked, daisies popping up under the soles of his feet. _

_ “Because I trust you,” said Eros, smiling at him as they walked out of the tall grass in no time. On the other side of the grass, there was the forest. Persephone shivered at the sight of it, remembering his mother’s warning about wandering into this place. He could get lost in there if he were careless. “Oh, don’t worry. We aren’t going in there,” assured Eros as she took him a few feet away from the tall grass. Now, Persephone could see it: a large pit. _

_ It was the size of a pond and looked as if someone had dug it out, all the grass growing around it torn and ripped from the earth. Persephone eyed the depths, not able to make anything out through the darkness. _

_ “Who did this?” he asked as they stood a foot away from it.  _ **_What did this?_ ** _ That probably suited the situation more. _

_ “I don’t know,” Eros shrugged, as curious and excited as she always was. “I just found it.” She wandered closer to the hole, and shakily, Persephone followed after her. The closer they got to the pit, the darker and deeper it looked. _

_ “We should go tell my mother,” said Persephone. He had no idea what she would do about it, but it would be better than staying near that pit. It was starting to make him anxious. _

_ “Let’s try to take a closer look, and then we’ll tell her,” promised the goddess of love, kneeling closer to the pit and looking within. She suddenly squealed. “Persephone, look!” she exclaimed, startling him. Persephone took a step back in shock. “No seriously, look! There’s some sparkly stuff you can see at the bottom! Look, look!” she insisted. _

_ Persephone wanted to hurry back to his mother, but Eros’ excitement drew him like flowers to the sun’s rays. One little peek wouldn’t hurt, he supposed, so he wandered over and kneeled beside her, peering down into the pit. As deep and dark it was, he could make out something shining at the very bottom of the pit—it was like a piece of a rainbow was buried in there. The blond let out a gasp, leaning in further to take a closer look. _

_ That gasp turned into a shriek as the earth beneath the young man crumbled, the dirt falling and slipping straight into the pit. He could hear Eros scream his name and felt roots wrap around his feet, spidery grass attempting to grab him. The roots only snapped and slowed down his fall briefly before he tumbled straight into the pit. _

_ Before he crashed to the ground, something caught him. It was soft, and it felt like the air the cradled him when he danced on the lake with the nymphs—like someone had caught him in their arms. Persephone stared straight up at the entrance of the pit as he descended a foot or so lower, his body slowly turning so that he landed on his feet once he reached the ground. _

_ “Wh… What…?” he asked himself, still trembling from the fall. He turned a full circle, his arms wrapped around himself as he took a look. The pit was big enough for him to stretch his arms out and touch either side of it with his finger tips, and the damp dirt and smell of earth almost relaxed him. Almost. He looked around again, his eyes landing on the sparkles that had caught his attention. _

_ They were opals, and they were in the hand of a shadow. _

_ Persephone stared up at the the shadow, unable to make a move or say anything. The shadow was tall, large, taking up the space of the pit he thought was empty. He couldn’t make heads or tails of what it was; all he could make out were two red orbs that were possibly its eyes. _

_ It didn’t attack him. That was a good sign, unless it wanted to look at him before it did. But the shadow just stared back at him, rolling the opals in its hand(?). Persephone could only return the favor, the silence between them agonizing. Finally, he managed to croak. _

_ “D-Did you-” He licked his lips, gulping. “Did you catch me?” _

_ The shadow nodded, showing him the handful of opals it had. It waited. _

_ Persephone looked at the gems, slowly putting together what the shadow was motioning. “Um… N-No,” he shook his head, “I really don’t need those. I was only looking at them because my friend and I saw them from up there.” He pointed up. “I… I really need to go back up there, though. Could you help me, please?” _

_ Asking a stranger for something could mean he needed to do something in return. And while Persephone didn’t want to think of what this shadow would ask, he really wanted to get out of the pit. _

_ The shadow drew close to him, and Persephone shut his eyes in fright. That same softness from before wrapped around him, comforting and safe like a blanket. Was this the shadow’s arms, or was it its entire body? He barely had time to consider what it was before a voice whispered. _

**_‘Breathe.’_ **

_ And he did. Like before, he felt weightless and was lifted off the ground. The young god stared in awe as the shadows wrapped around him and carried him all the way to the top of the pit. He was placed on the ground, just as the tall grass rustled and his mother came bustling straight through it, Eros right on her heels. _

_ “Persephone!” Demeter cried out as she pulled her son into her arms and cried. “Thank goodness you’re alright! Eros told me you fell!” She pulled away a little bit to take a closer look at him, and her fright turned into confusion. “Did you get yourself out? Are you injured?” she asked. _

_ “I’m fine, mother,” promised the young god, wiping dirt off his cheek. “I… I only stumbled a little bit, but my spider grass caught me before I fell all the way in. I just climbed back up and only got a little bit dirty.” He snuck a quick glance at Eros, telling her to comply with his story, before he looked back at his mother. “I’m sorry to have worried you. I promise I won’t be so reckless again, but please don’t stop our trips here. I like coming here.” _

_ “Sweetheart,” Demeter sighed as she pulled him back into her arms. “I’m just so relieved you’re alright. I… I promise we’ll still come here, but I want you both-” She pulled away again to look at the both of them. “-to promise me that when you ask for permission to go somewhere, you’ll tell me the truth. Understood? she asked. The pair nodded. “Persephone, we’re going to return home right now. You need to be cleaned up. Say goodbye to Eros for now.” _

_ As much as he wanted to stay, Persephone knew that this was as lenient as his mother would be. He walked over to Eros and said his goodbyes, but not before leaning close to her and whispering, “We need to talk again soon. You’re not gonna believe what I saw down there.” _

_ “Did you find out what was sparkling at the bottom?” asked his friend. _

_ “Not exactly, but…” Persephone paused, something heavy pressed against his hip. His hand fell to his pocket and he could feel the smooth edges of a stone, nearly the size of a grape. He was sure if he pulled whatever it was out of his pocket, it would be from the hand of the shadow that rescued him. “Something was down there. No, actually… I think something jumped into the hole and rescued me. I don’t know what it was but… I have to meet it again and thank it.” _

* * *

“Ven… Ven, those sticks are going to turn into logs for a fire if you don’t take them out of the oven like I said.”

“Huh?” Snapping out of his daydream, the college student blinked rapidly as the oven’s timer and his father’s voice rang in his ears. “Crap!” he squawked.

“Language while in the shop.”

“Sorry,” apologized the baker’s son as he took the cinnamon toast sticks out of the oven, setting them down on a rack to cool. “I guess I got distracted,” he said as he scratched the back of his head. More like he had been daydreaming, if he could really call it that. It felt like he had been standing in front of a TV and watching a blurry black and white movie with static washed all over the screen, the voices muffled and a few words popping out here and there. His mind often wandered whenever he spaced out, but it was never like this.

“Well, I can take care of the other customers coming in for late-night snacks,” his father assured as he wiped down the counter. “Head upstairs and get some rest, alright? Thanks for helping out.”

“No problem, dad,” said Ventus as he hung up his apron and walked to the back room. “Call me if you need me,” he reminded before walking into the next room and taking the stairs up into their apartment. As soon as he closed the door behind him, he pulled out his phone and checked the time. It was just a little bit after nine.

“Alright!” he exclaimed, clapping his hands and rubbing his palms together. “Time to get to work.”

* * *

Not a sound was made. Not a single light broke the darkness around him, save for the moon glowing brightly in the sky. The white glow made the trees cast shadows upon an observatory that was closed for the evening. This was the ideal setting for a person such as himself, the whole place bathed only in moonlight as he made his escape through the skylight of the observatory. It was like a scene out of a novel.

He scaled over the roof and ran straight for the tall, tall trees, leaping and grabbing onto the nearest branch. His entire body looped as he held and swung from the limb, landing on his feet the moment he let go.

“Mission accomplished,” he said to himself, double-checking the goods in his satchel. Unlike the movies, the meteorite tucked into his bag didn’t glow with energy that pulsed from another planet. No, the light shining from this treasure was far more valuable. “Once we get you on your way, you’ll be back safely with your rightful owner,” he assured as he closed his bag and charged through the trees. The longer he stayed, the more likely it was he would get caught if the morning security guards decided to show up early.

As he ran, the young man looked over his shoulder and grinned as the observatory turned smaller and smaller the farther he got away.

Wayward Wind had struck again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed the new chapter! ^^ As I said before, weekly updates are back on schedule so I look forward to updating you guys next Friday. Also, some exciting news! I would love to give credit and thanks for two pieces of art that were made for this fic. I cannot tell you guys how much that warms my heart, and for people to go out of their way to make fan art of the fic is so heartwarming ;u; Seriously, thank you, you guys.
> 
> The first one is actually a commission I bought from the lovely @ lakokoosa on Twitter ^^ You guys can find it on my own twitter as well! Just look for @ dewdropdaffdil and the drawing will be on the latest tweet about this fic. You’ll know it when you see it cx 
> 
> Second, this art piece completely caught me off guard and it moved me to tears because someone had went out of their way to make it and I adore it ;u; This piece can also be found under my Twitter, made by @ neoshadqw. It is also recent so it should be easy to spot. It is a gorgeous interpretation of a scene from chapter one. Thank you so much, neoshadqw. It really means a lot to me and just made my heart feel so full ;w; 
> 
> Thank you guys again for checking out this fic and thank you again to waywardriot for editing! I could not have gotten far with this fic without you guys! Thanks again and see you next time! ^-^


	5. Starting a Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A step in Wayward Wind’s plans is revealed, leaving the night of the exhibit’s debate to be moved and opening a weekend spent with Ventus.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! ^^ I hope you’re all doing well and are still recovering from KH3! If you just got your hands on the game, congrats! I hope you have fun playing it! Once again, thank you so much to waywardriot for editing this chapter! It would never look as great as it did without his help, and thank you guys again for your support of the fic! Hope you guys enjoy the chapter ^-^

_ Whoever said he was banished to the Underworld was a liar.  _

_ Hades chose to rule over the domain himself when he and his brothers decided on their roles. He gladly took a step back and allowed Zeus and Poseidon to take the jobs that humans flocked to and prayed to the most. At least while he ruled the Underworld, he wasn’t stuck hearing the whining and selfish desires humans had. They were loud and irritating, making him shudder at the thought of taking a form like them. He would rather not be what he was disgusted by the most. His brothers insisted he take a more human form, give the humans a reason to worship him and sing songs of the beauty that matched his greatness; still, Hades remained in his shadowy form, a pair of red eyes unblinkingly glaring at the world and the lower forms that inhabited it. _

_ Hades watched as the realms around them grew. It was rare to hear from his brothers now and more frequent to see souls come hurtling into his kingdom. Something told him this was his brothers’ doing, perhaps the other gods as well since the power could get to their heads, but he paid it no mind. He simply did what he could once the souls arrived; he saw them on their way and would loathe the days they would return. Many of them came back just as unpleasant as they had the first time, complaining and crying to him. Why were they sent here? Why did they pass on so early? It was the same questions every time. _

_ Hades merely sent them away, not in the mood for sob stories. If they had anyone to blame for their short lives, it was themselves. Mortals were reckless and greedy, and they would do anything to get what they wanted. He wasn’t there to give them a sympathetic ear, especially if it was just for them to cry and fester around him like flies drawn to a carcass. He had no time to sit down and listen as his work piled up and up. _

_ When the work became too much, Hades needed a break. On rare occasions, he would leave Thanatos in charge of watching the Underworld while he ventured to another layer of Olympia, all the way up to a secluded field where it was almost always sunset. From the forest to the lake, warm golden rays of light bathed the land and not a soul disturbed the place. Hades found it to be his favorite spot, especially with the large tree growing on the farthest part of the lake. Here he rested, nestled among the shadows with the quiet being his source of comfort— _

_ And then the nymphs appeared. _

_ A giggling bunch of maidens that loved to kick up the surface of the lake with their silly dances. Hades glared at them whenever they showed up, wondering how they found this place, as the lake should have been too small for them to spot. As they continued to visit and bring more of their kind to his hiding place, the ruler of the Underworld grew closer and closer to leaving and finding a new place to haul himself. _

_ “Hi! We’ve been waiting for you! Now we can play!” _

_ More of them? Hadn’t they filled the lake completely to the brim? The laughter stirred Hades from his sleep that day, and he opened his eyes to see what all the fuss was about. _

_ His own godly soul nearly left his body. _

_ The first thing he felt was warmth. It radiated off the young god standing on the lake, and it felt stronger than the sun Apollo loved so dearly. His laughter bounced and traveled across the field, landing on Hades' quiet patch of earth and causing tremors that ran across his form—good tremors. The kind that made him dizzy, yet he didn’t mind them if the laughter came from the small god. The god of the Underworld was sure he had never seen this young man before. He would remember him if he did. _

_ Hades searched through the ramblings his brothers shared with him before a name came to mind: Demeter. His brothers had spoken about the goddess of harvest and how she tried to hide her most beloved child, a boy with a crown of flowers in his hair. Hades glanced along the lake’s edge, spotting Demeter as she watched the boy dance along the lake’s surface. Now he was certain. The boy was her son, the one that all spoke of, and he was as beautiful as the rumors said. _

_ Hades looked back to the lake and froze as the young god’s eyes met his own. He was stunned with how wide and blue his eyes were; Hades was certain he would drown in them if he drew too close to him. That thought was what stopped him mid-way from standing up and reaching for the child of nature. He took a step back, melting into the shadows and fleeing before he would be seen by the others. _

_ He didn’t return to that lake for a while. By now, the spot was probably well-known to all entities of Olympia, and it wouldn’t be empty for some time. Hades kept telling himself that was the reason he didn’t come back, and not because he would be disappointed if he didn’t see the young man there. _

* * *

“So,” Vanitas snuck a look down the line of tables, the little diner they were in partially empty. “Is this guy your bodyguard, or...?”

“He’s my cousin, technically,” Xion leaned to the side and waved at Riku with a smile. Riku returned it, but his face was still as stoic as a rock. It almost unnerved Vanitas. “I’ve been his distant cousin ever since he was seven.”

“Eros, how long have you been here, exactly?”

“Here? It would be about fourteen years.” Vanitas almost fumbled with his cup of coffee, a few droplets spilling out. “Yeah, the map has been missing for a while…” Xion added as she quickly wiped off some of the spilt coffee with napkins.

“How come no one bothered to tell me?” asked Vanitas.

Eros gave a kind, yet strained smile. “Would you have helped?”

“Hell no, but don’t keep me out of the loop, Eros,” huffed the dark-haired man.

“I’ll make sure to let the others know next time,” sighed Eros. She had mellowed out since the last time he saw her, Vanitas noticed. “Anyway, while I was sent here, I realized that I may need some help getting around, so I found a family and wrote myself into their memories as their distant niece. It took awhile, but I was able to find the location of the map in this city.”

“But it was stolen before you could get it,” confirmed Vanitas. “By Wayward Wind.”

Xion nodded. “Yeah. It was the last thing any of us expected. We have no idea why they stole it, unless they wanted to sell it.”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to figure out, too,” said Vanitas as he leaned back in his seat. “It’s my job,” he explained when Xion looked at him in bewilderment. Vanitas filled her in on what he had been doing—at least his job and the reason he was here in the city. “This thief’s planning on stealing from the customer I’ve been working with, so I’ve been looking into places where he would most likely strike.” He shook his head. “But he’s already stolen from the university, so there goes my lead.”

“I’m sorry,” apologized the dark-haired girl. “I should have gotten here sooner and gotten the maps first.”

“It was Zeus who screwed up, not you,” Vanitas replied. Eros needed to stop beating herself up. It wasn’t like her. “Don’t take the blame for his mistakes, alright? Why isn’t he getting off his ass and looking for the map himself?”

Xion winced. “Hera.”

That figures. Vanitas rolled his eyes. “She’s got him by the balls even though they were what started this whole shit show.”

“Well, that, and he and the others have been trying to maintain order in Olympia,” explained Xion as she stirred her tea. “Everything has been weird ever since you left. Everyone’s been getting into arguments, more than usual.”

“All because of the map?”

“Poseidon says it’s because the order is out of whack. A lot of the gods have gone their own ways ever since people have started to forget them.” There was a moment of silence. It was hard to swallow that what truly killed the gods was being forgotten, and the both of them were sure many of their fellow deities were no longer with them because of that. “And with some of us gone, others had to take their place. They’re either inexperienced, or they try to take over someone else’s role.”

“Has Thanatos pulled any of that?” asked Vanitas.

Xion smiled and shook her head. “No. He’s been really good while you’ve been away.” Another pause. “Hades, you have been away for a while. Have you ever considered coming back? Your brothers miss you, and so does Apollo…”

Vanitas stared out the window as soon as she brought it up. “I don’t know,” he shrugged. “I’ve thought about it, but…” His eyebrows came together and he gave an empty smirk, self-loathing burning in his gut. “I doubt I’d really be wanted back.”

“But you would be, and you are!” Xion insisted. “It would take some time for you to adjust after living as a mortal for a while, sure. But you would fit back in all the same, and with you ruling again, maybe Olympia will finally get some order back.”

“It’d be too much of a hassle, though, right?” Vanitas shook his head. “You’re saying they missed me? Did they forget I almost tore Olympia apart? What about Apollo? He still has the scar, doesn’t he? I had cut him so deep…” Gods could be killed by other gods, and Vanitas had nearly struck one down himself.

“Hades…”

“What about all those mortals?” Vanitas’ eyes began to flash gold. He knew he had to stop, or else he’d send tables flying, but the words came out before he knew it. “All the lives I took? The Underworld was so flooded with them. I’m sure Thanatos thinks I’m a piece of shit for dumping all that work on him.”

“Hades-”

“Vanitas,” his hand was a fist on the table, heavy and tight, as if to anchor him to where he was now. His emotions were getting the better of him again. “My name is Vanitas now, Eros… Xion.” He shook his head as the golden was melting back to light brown. “I’m Vanitas Harte,” he breathed, his lungs feeling deflated.

Xion looked blown away; it felt like a turbulent power rushed at her all at once. Had Vanitas been storing that within him all this time? “Vanitas,” she tread carefully, watching his squeezed fist and labored breathing. She saw Riku on his feet, looking at her and silently asking if she needed help with this whacko. “Alright, I promise I’ll call you that from now on. Just keep in mind what I said, alright?” She shook her head at her cousin before looking back at Hades. “Alright?” she repeated.

“...Alright,” Vanitas nodded, and he folded his arms on the table. “Thinking about back then leaves a bad taste in my mouth,” he admitted.

‘ _It does more than that,’_ noted Xion, but she kept that to herself. “I understand. I miss Persephone, too…” The sounds of plates being washed and the jukebox sitting in the corner occupied the silence. “So, how about this?” Xion clapped her hands. “Let’s find the map together. If we work as a team, we can find this Wayward Wind and get the map back, or at least get him to tell us where he last left it, if he hasn’t given it to anyone yet. Plus, you can stop him from trying to steal that exhibit.”

Vanitas’ first thought was to say no, since he was already used to doing things on his own, but since he had just lost his latest lead, what else could he do? Besides, if there was anyone he could ask help from without losing his pride, it would be his lover’s childhood friend.

“Alright,” he said, earning a beaming smile from the girl across from him. “Might as well kill two birds with one stone. Got any ideas?” he asked as he finished his cup of coffee.

“I’ve actually been working on one with my cousin.” Vanitas stared at her as a smile spread across her face. “Riku was at an exhibit Wayward Wind stole from.”

* * *

Riku was an enigma Vanitas couldn’t make sense of. He had only been around the young mortal for an hour or so, and Vanitas was almost certain he was anything but human. Not one look of disbelief or surprise crossed his face when Xion told him they were helping an investigation that was to stop an ever-growing thief and their robberies.

“Okay.” That was all he said before having the two follow him to his college dorm. On the way over, Vanitas kept asking Xion if something was wrong with him, to which Riku replied, “You’re the grown man talking to two college students and following one of them back to their dorm, and you’re calling  _ me  _ weird.”

Vanitas would have shoved the kid if he weren’t the size of a telephone pole and if he wasn’t a previous suspect. As it had turned out, Riku was on the list Vanitas had obtained earlier. He had been at a museum Wayward Wind had hit on the opening night of a still-life exhibit and had been close enough to the thief just before he made his escape, but Riku had been written off as soon as he was added. For what reason, Vanitas was hoping to find out.

They made it to Riku’s dorm and thankfully got Vanitas in with no questions asked. The week was drawing to an end, so many students were either out or had already left to spend their weekend at home, including Riku’s roommates. Xion sat on one of the spare beds, and Vanitas stood while Riku set up his PC, pushing aside all sports equipment he kept scattered around his room.

“I didn’t get a good look at his face, but I did hear him say something weird.” The student sat at his desk and opened many files that had articles surrounding the heists of the phantom thief, similar to the ones Vanitas carried. “He said something like, ‘Just a few more stops, and then I’ll be done. I just need the map, the dagger, and the eye.’”

“Two of those really shouldn’t belong in the same sentence,” said Xion with a shudder. “What was he talking about?”

Riku shrugged. “I don’t know. When I told the police, they thought I was trying to pull a prank. Said there wasn’t a chance I could have gotten close enough to hear him say that.”

“How did you hear him say all that?” asked Vanitas.

“While everyone was evacuating after the painting was stolen, I got separated from the crowd and made for the next exit I could find. I think it wasn’t used because it was so far away from the rest of the exhibit,” Riku tugged at his hair, “and before I made it to the door, I could hear him on the other side of the door before he left. It sounded like he was talking to someone.”

“So he’s not working alone,” said Vanitas. Having an accomplice would explain how he was able to travel to all these different places across the state. “And that map he was talking about might be the one from the library.”

“Which leaves the dagger and the eye,” Xion shuddered a second time. “Is there anything like that at the museum?”

None that Vanitas could recall. All his weapons and his eyes were either on him or in Olympia (his eyes were especially on him). “No, but seeing the curator already in knots over this, I’m gonna have to try to get him to move the exhibit night in order to do some more investigating and hopefully find out what dagger and what eye Wayward Wind would want so badly.”

“That’s not a bad idea,” said Riku, his voice a touch impressed. “Maybe you could throw Wayward Wind off for a while if you changed it. You said he wants the right audience to see him make his great escape, right?”

It looked like Riku was more helpful than Vanitas had thought. “Yeah… Let’s throw him off his game!” An almost evil smirk came upon the CEO’s face. “And when he least suspects it, that’s when we catch him and make him squeal about the location of the other pieces he stole.”

Riku threw a look at Xion, who returned it with a sheepish smile that said, ‘Don’t worry. He’s not as crazy as he looks.’

“I guess that means we need to look at places that could have rare weapons and… eyes,” Xion was starting to look nauseous, “then we can split up the work. Riku and I will look for the dagger and gather some more information on Wayward Wind, and Vanitas can look for the eye and have the museum reschedule the Greek exhibit.” She pulled out her cellphone and exchanged numbers with Vanitas. “Here, we can text or call each other if we find anything. With the three of us looking together, this should be a lot easier,” she said with a smile.

“We’re trying to do what the police have been trying to solve for months,” Riku pointed out with skepticism. “It’s going to take a lot of time.”

Vanitas scrolled down his list of contacts until he made it to Ira’s. “Then I guess I better start making some calls.“

* * *

 

_ “Are you still mad at me?” Hades merely floated onward while Hypnos trod on beside him, the pair crossing under the shade of the trees. “I…” Hypnos tilted his head back and heaved a huge yawn. “I was catching up on a nap. I haven't slept since… since…” Hades still ignored him, his red eyes narrowed and staring straight ahead, silently fuming. “But I’m sorry, I am! I had no idea Cerberus would wander all the way here and cause a mess! At least he returned...” _

_ That didn’t help their situation, though. Hades shook his head, wondering how Hypnos didn’t have the same intelligence as his brother did. Both were essential lords in his kingdom but it looked like Thanatos pulled most of the work. Hades made a mental note to give Thanatos some free time another day. For now, he would leave him in charge of the kingdom while he went and took care of Hypnos mistake. One would think watching a large, three-headed dog would be easy enough, but no. Clearly Hypnos wasn’t responsible enough to keep watch. At least he had been honest and came to Hades the moment Cerberus had returned and found a mess the beast had made. _

_ But now, Hades had to take care of the mess, unless he wanted to deal with Zeus getting on his back about keeping a watch on his guard dog. Hades mentally berated his brother; after all, he did send Hercules down to his domain to retrieve Cerberus for some trial he set for the hero. _

_ Soon enough, the two of them made it to the tree line of the forest and spotted the massive pit Cerberus had dug out. Hades wanted to groan. Even a terrifying beast was still a dog, of course, but this was ridiculous. He’d rather be doing anything else than this. He hoped he could hurry and take care of this without any problem. _

_ “PERSEPHONE!” _

_ And, of course, there was a problem. _

_ He and Hypnos had not seen the teenagers earlier, but now they certainly heard them. The god of the Underworld took a second to evaluate the situation before he shot himself straight past the goddess and into the pit. He pulled himself apart and surrounded the falling teenager, catching him before he met the earth. He gently carried the boy to bottom of the pit and pulled himself away, reconstructing himself. The moment he saw those wide blue eyes, he pressed himself against the wall of the pit, not making a sound. _

_It was him again. Bright, violet-colored cosmos tangled in his golden curls and something poking out of his left eyebrow. Was a flower bud sprouting there? Hades dared to edge himself a little closer. The smaller god was taller and had a coat of freckles across his cheeks; Demeter must have let him go outside more, even though she was always with him. He was stunning, radiating the same warmth he possessed the day they had first locked eyes with one another. The god of souls was blown away all over again. Now Hades had a name to the face._

_ Persephone. The name fit him so well. It was as lovely as the young god who slowly looked around the pit in fright. Hades didn’t want to scare him further, but he knew he had to get him out of here the same way he caught him—but how to do it without scaring him? _

_ His eyes fell to the ground, and he saw a few opals tucked into the dirt. He picked them up and brushed the dirt away, the stones glittering and now reflected in Persephone's eyes once he turned and saw Hades. The older god expected a scream, a wail for his mother. That was the reaction he usually got, and he didn’t expect any less from this young god that looked pretty terrified already. _

_ “D-Did you… Did you catch me?” _

_ Hades nodded, speechless as always. Persephone’s voice was so soft. He was still scared, but it didn’t look like it was because of Hades. Well, that was sort of good, but the god of the Underworld wanted to make him  _ happy _. He had the most powerful urge to see him smiling like he had at the lake. He held out the opals to him. At every these would make him smile? _

_ “Um… N-No.” Persephone shook his head, and a swell of panic stirred in Hades. Was he scared of him after all? “I really don’t need those. I was only looking at them because my friend and I saw them from up there.” They both looked up at the entrance to the pit, the sun barely reaching the bottom of it. “I… I really need to go back up there, though. Could you help me, please?” _

**_Anything for him._ ** _ Hades was surprised with how readily he was to help him, but he didn’t care. The urge was still strong, ever burning as he drew close and surrounded the blonde again. In this form, he could feel the emotions coursing through Persephone. His fright was still there, but the tiniest glimmer of relief was there, too. No matter how small, it was warm, and Hades appreciated it. No one ever felt relief around him before. _

_ Still, the boy had turned stiff, holding his breath and hugging himself so tightly that he felt like a rock. This wouldn’t do. As best as he could, Hades broke himself further until he felt like the clouds resting in the sky. He made his way to Persephone’s shoulder and whispered as softly as he could. _

**_“Breathe.”_ **

_ He could feel Persephone take a huge breath in, holding it for a moment before he let it out. Just as he did, Hades carried him off the ground and out of the pit, reveling in the warmth for just a while longer before he placed him on the ground and slipped the opals into his pocket. Even if he didn’t need them, Hades could tell he wanted them. _

_ He slipped away before Demeter and the young goddess with her could catch sight of him. He dashed past Hypnos and felt his form shifting back and forth, his very soul searching for the warmth it just carried; it was a balm to his existence, soothing and feeling just right. He wanted to wrap himself around Persephone again or stand by his side to feel that just once more. To hear him speak. To see him smile and say his name in that melodious voice. _

_ Hades stopped and curled himself up against the tree, a new warmth engulfing him. _

_ He was struck with love. _

* * *

 

Daybreak City woke up to a rainy day the following morning, which meant the bakery wouldn’t be as busy as it usually was, aside from those who wanted their morning coffee.

Vanitas happened to be one of those people. He stepped out of his car and made his way to the bakery, making sure the rain and wind didn’t ruin his hair or appearance before he walked in and spotted Ventus at the counter.

“Hey,” he greeted, noting how pink the young man’s cheeks were the minute they met eyes. “Happy to see me?” he asked with a teasing grin.

“I just saw you yesterday,” scoffed Ventus, but the fake eye roll and blush already gave him away. He was really happy to see Vanitas. “How did yesterday go? Did you find any new customers?” asked Ventus as he poured a cup of coffee with a dash of creamer and double the beans—just how Vanitas liked it.

“No luck,” Vanitas accepted the coffee and made sure to slip a big tip in the tip jar just as Ventus was bagging a blueberry muffin for him. He was really starting to impress Vanitas by memorizing his tastes, as if he hadn’t impressed him already. “But there are some new places I’m going to check out soon enough, so it looks like I’ll get to stay here a little longer.”

“Oh!” Ventus perked up a lot more. It made Vanitas think of a puppy who saw it was getting more playtime. “That’s great! We can spend more time together.” His face turned red, but he tried to hide it by eyeing the paper bag as he slipped it to Vanitas. “That is, if you want to.”

‘ _Yes, yes, a thousand times yes. I’ll always make time for you.’_ His heart was pining again. He wanted to reach out and pull the young man into his arms more than anything, just like he had before. He settled for placing his hands on top of Ventus’, meeting his surprised and flustered face as he gave a kind smile. “I’d love to,” he murmured, staring into his eyes before looking at his lips. He wanted to kiss him so badly and feel how soft they were against his own. “I want to spend as much time with you as I can while I’m here…”

Ventus was leaning in, wanting to do the same as his fingers started to lace with Vanitas’. “Really?” he whispered, the two of them drawing close.

“Ven!” And like that, the spell was broken—at least for Ventus as he pulled back and spun around just as his sister came in. “I need you to start making the cream for a batch of puff pastries I have in the oven. Remember, dad wanted us to have these done for the Mallard’s wedding anniversary.”

“R-Right!” With his face still bright red, Ventus looked back at Vanitas and smiled, a little embarrassed. “I’ll be right back to ring you up,” he said, all his words meshed together before he skittered into the kitchen.

Though disappointed, Vanitas raised his hand and waved once, smirking a little. “I’ll be waiting.”

“Or I could ring you up,” Aqua walked over with a smile that painfully read, ‘the customer is always right.’ “This is all, right? You don’t need anything else?”

Vanitas could see right through her smile that she wanted him out and away from her little brother. She was like a lioness protecting her cub. While Vanitas gave her props for being protective, he wasn’t going to back down. Like he was going to let her be the obstacle that stood between him and his beloved. “Well…” Vanitas drawled out his words, years of patience with difficult business partners and customers rolling in as he slowly turned on his heel. “I was thinking I could buy some more, since who knows how fast I can finish that muffin?”

“Probably pretty fast if it can talk up a storm with workers  _ while they’re busy with work _ .” She was still smiling, but the hostility was there.

Vanitas smirked. Two could play this game. “Said worker wasn’t complaining about that when I almost kissed him.” He returned a smile just as terrifyingly bright as Aqua’s while the latter’s faltered for a moment. “I’ll take a look around,” he said before walking to the shelves.

Vanitas: 1

Big sister: 0

By the time Ventus had finished prepping the cream filling, he was pleasantly surprised by the basket full of bread on the counter and the large smiles on Aqua and Vanitas’ faces. “Wow, you really sold him on the bread, huh, Aqua?” he grinned at the both of them as he moved over to the cash register and weighed in all the baked goods. “You’re in luck—we have a rainy-day special today.” He bagged and exchanged money with Vanitas. “Still, that is a lot of bread…”

“Want to share?” Vanitas offered. He could feel Aqua burning holes into his skull.

“Sure!” Ventus smiled and before Aqua could intervene, he took off his apron and hung it up on a hook nearby. “Aqua, I’m gonna take my lunch break now. Vanitas and I can have the bread upstairs.”

“It’s not noon yet!” She couldn’t stop them as her little brother motioned Vanitas to follow him to the apartment stairway. “Ven, the store-”

“Twenty minutes tops! I promise! I owe you for this!” Ventus was already up the stairs, and Vanitas looked back at her with a smug look.

“Twenty minutes tops,” he repeated, catching her sneer before he hurried up the stairs and followed after Ventus. Let her stew in whatever problem she had with him, he thought. If he could deal with Demeter’s irrational behavior, he could deal with Ventus’ sister’s.

Once they settled into the apartment, Ventus fetched some plates, napkins, and glasses of milk for them. “Sorry for the lack of chairs,” said the blonde as he dug out the couch cushions and slid one to Vanitas as they sat at the living room coffee table. “There really isn’t a lot of room here…” He turned on the small TV nearby and set the volume on low, leaving it on the news channel.

There wasn’t, and it was a wonder to Vanitas how a family of four could fit into such a tiny place. Had he known Persephone was living like this the whole time, he would  have bought them a new home in a heartbeat.

“You made room for me, that’s all that matters.” He grinned at Ventus’ blush. “You always get so flustered around me. What, you like me?”

“Of course. As a friend,” replied Ventus, his smile sincere. Vanitas had no idea if that was a joke or not, but it still stung all the same.  _ ‘Baby steps,’  _ he reminded himself, though that kissing stunt he pulled before was more like a leap. Had Ventus already forgotten about that? “It's really nice to have you around, Vanitas. It’s been awhile since I got to hang out with someone my age.”

Vanitas couldn’t find the right words to reply, so he stuck with taking a bite out of his muffin. Now that he looked at it, it was going to take them a while to finish all these goodies, and he would need to hit the gym again. He looked over to Ventus and watched him scarf down the bread and snacks like they were nothing. His cheeks were starting to stuff up like a chipmunk’s, too.  _ ‘I love him.’ _

“Sorry!” After downing the bread with his milk, Ventus wiped his mouth abashedly, hiding himself. “I skipped out on breakfast because I slept a little late.”

“It’s fine,” Vanitas slid his glass of milk to him so he wouldn’t have to fetch more in the kitchen. “Late-night studying kept you up?”

“Oh, yeah,” Ventus thanked him for the milk before finishing it. “Well, if you count looking up what samurais wore and what’s the closest thing you could buy from the thrift shop for your little brother’s cosplay.”

“Cosplay?” Vanitas asked, confused.

“Yeah. It’s dressing up as characters from anime and video games. My brother is super into it and he asks me to help with his costumes all the time.” In the span twenty minutes, Ventus told the tale of how the combined passion from his father’s previous job as a historian and his brother’s love for Japanese animation had shaped his desire to study history and writing. The past made him curious and after writing down so many notes for his brother and school, Ventus grew to enjoy them and put both into school.

Vanitas listened to his every word as they ate their bread together, only a few slices and cookies left at the bottom of the bag by the time Ventus finished up. By then, Vanitas didn’t notice. He just loved to hear Ventus talk. Every word he said was filled with so much emotion, always ending with a laugh or a gentle sigh. “And since my dad still has a few ties with his old job back in Traverse Town, I might be able to study abroad once I finish all my requirements here.”

“You should definitely do it,” Vanitas nodded. “It’s a really big opportunity.”

“Once I get financial aid and finish, for sure,” Ventus placed his hands under his chin and smiled in a way that tugged at Vanitas’ heartstrings. “Until then, I’ll help my brother with his cosplay and his D&D group.”

“D&D?”

“You can’t sit here, in my house, telling me you never played D&D.” This wasn’t insulting to Vanitas, but he was pretty sure that was what Ventus was trying to pull. He was smiling that wide smile, though, so maybe he was playing around. Cute. “Well, there’s a first time for everything. We’re going to host a D&D night here in the bakery with my brother and some friends this Sunday. Want to tag along?”

“Well, I never played…” But this would mean a chance to spend the whole weekend with Ventus back-to-back. First the date, and then this D&D session. They could actually start a relationship all over again, he was sure of it. “But yeah, I’ll give it a shot,” he said, enjoying the way Ventus smiled excitedly. He would never grow tired of that. “That means you’re going to see me more often though,” he said, the pouty smolder he held working its charm as Ventus flushed red once more. “That okay?”

“Y-Yeah!” exclaimed his host, trying to play it cool. It wasn’t working, but Vanitas still adored him for trying. He was so caught up in Ventus planning out what character Vanitas could play and the basic rules of the game, neither of them caught the cue card for the latest news.

‘ _Starlight Observatory Robbed! The Infamous Thief has done it again!’_

* * *

_ He didn’t know why he was at the lake the day night finally fell upon the place. Perhaps old habits die hard, and he wanted to return to what was once the most secluded place on the haven above the realm. At night, it truly was empty. No one came here while Nyx was out and bringing the darkness into the skies. She was chatty and readily looking for people to sit with her and bask in the moonlight while she went into great detail about the constellations in the sky. Hades didn’t mind it as much. He sat and listened to her for a while before he left; she didn’t bother him again so long as he sat and listened at least a little. _

_ He could hear the grass rustling behind him and turned to tell Nyx that he wanted to have some time to himself, but as he did, he saw a few opals. Carrying those opals was Persephone, one of his blue eyes covered by a yellow blossom that grew over his eyebrow. A shame. While the flower was gorgeous, it paled in comparison to Persephone’s eyes. _

_ “A-Ah…” Persephone cleared his throat, the blossom bopping as he looked down at the opals in his hand. “I… I wanted to thank you for helping me. And for th-these. They’re really pretty…” He took a few steps towards Hades. “May I… May I sit with you?” _

_ Hades moved aside, allowing the god to come closer and sit on his knees next to him. The two of them stared at the lake in silence, both unsure of what to say. _

_ Hades could feel his form shifting in and out again and he remained as still as he could. Just with Persephone sitting next to him was enough to make him stir like this. Was this a good thing or a bad thing, though? He hoped good. He didn’t want to scared the nature god away. _

_ Finally, Persephone broke the silence. “My name is Persephone,” he looked up at the shadowy form with the kindest smile he had ever received. That warmth returned, even on this cold night. “And I wish to thank you for saving my life. What’s your name?” _

_ Hades spoke to him through the only way he knew, a shadowy tendril gently resting upon Persephone’s hand. While he was surprised, the blonde didn’t pull away. Instead, he looked up at the lord of the dead’s eyes before he closed his own and breathed in, like before. _

**_‘My name is Hades. Lord of the Underworld.’_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there again, guys! I had to hugest jump of motivation thanks to all of you who have been enjoying the fic and to those of you who made fan art for the fic ^^ You all took time to make something for the fic and honestly, that means so much to me and I am really thankful for to you guys ^_^ I could not have asked for a better audience.
> 
> Also, I’m sorry for the slow pace Ventus and Vanitas are going at. I’m promise that romance will bloom but I want to try my best to build up their relationship, even though they fell in love before. Thank you so much for your own patience and support. Hope you all stay tuned for the next chapter! Until next time ^^


	6. Turn up the Heat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Both Ventus and Vanitas are falling, but for different reasons.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Afternoon guys! Or whatever time wherever you are now. Thanks for tuning in ^^ These chapters have been getting a lot more fun to write since the past portion of the story has been introduced. Having that said, I’m sorry for any changes I’ve made to the mythos featured in this fic. It’s just to fit the plot of the story. Thank you for bearing these changes. And once again, thank you to waywardriot for editing this chapter. You always know how to make it look good! And thank you to all your support once again, guys. Hope you guys enjoy the new chapter!

“Namine, what the hell is a d-20?”

_ “... Vanitas, please tell me this isn’t like the time Ansem asked me what a meme was—I really don’t want to spend an hour explaining something you can look up online.” _

“I already tried that.” Exasperated, Vanitas raked his hair back and stared at his laptop, the diagrams and mythical jargon on the screen making less and less sense.

When he agreed to attend Ventus’ D&D session, he had thought it would be simple. It looked simple enough—which was why he had never touched the game in his life. If it was simple, then it was for children, and he had a lot of other things to do in his leisure time than learning how to play a children's game. As it turned out, the game was more than it seemed. Ever since he woke up this morning, he was stuck where he started reading, lost and confused in a sea of stories that told of different elven clans and what weapons and armors they could use, to texts that spoke of spiritual familiars and what benefits they provided to the witch class. Not even mortals who wrote stories of him and his brothers could come up with stuff like  _ this _ . Well, they could, but even  _ that  _ felt less confusing than what he was reading.

“Look,” Vanitas scrubbed at his face, sleep creeping at the corners of his eyes and beckoning him to return to bed and deal with this later. “Do you know anything about D&D?”

_ “Well, my brothers used to let me play with them while growing up, but it’s all a little fuzzy,”  _ Namine shrugged on the other end.  _ “A d-20 is a twenty-sided die. It’s used for rolls in the game, but for many different things.” _

“What kind of things?” asked Vanitas.

_ “I don’t know. I haven’t played it in years, like I said.”  _ Vanitas sighed, reaching for his morning coffee and taking a few sips.  _ “Why so interested? Picking up a new hobby?”  _ She paused, and he instantly knew she was going into nosey mode again.  _ “Is that guy you’re seeing into it? I didn’t think you were into the creative types.” _

“If I say yes, can we drop this faster?” grunted her boss. Namine would drive to Daybreak City and start her own investigation if she found out Vanitas was seeing someone. She then would have promised to keep her findings a secret, but Vanitas knew that one way or another, his entire staff would find out, and who knows what other rumors would begin. So he gave her the gist of it, mentioning that Ventus had caught his eye while he was in the city, and that they had plans on Saturday. He immediately declined her offer to send Ventus flowers; it was way too soon for that, and he wanted to do that himself. The look on his face would be too good to miss.

_ “Awwww.” _

“Don’t make that noise,” he grunted again, the tips of his ears burning red.

_ “But it's so sweet. I knew you really had a heart of gold!”  _ giggled Namine.  _ “Though, I would have guessed it literally, too. An actual heart made of gold that you keep in a safe.” _

‘ _Note to self. Never tell her about the apple of discord in my safe.’_ It wasn’t a heart of gold, but it was worth just as much, if not more.

“Right, and I have lungs made of silver and a stomach of steel,” he humored her whilst rolling his eyes. “But seriously, what am I supposed to do? He gave me a cheat sheet to get a better idea of what I’m supposed to do, but…” Ventus had chicken scratch. His writing was so small and bunched together that he could barely make out if he was supposed to add all the rolls he made or eat all the dolls he made; plus he had no dolls in his inventory, nor did he have the desire to eat them. While the cheat sheet was very unhelpful, he did appreciate how adorable, albeit illegible, the handwriting looked.

_ “Hm…”  _ Vanitas could hear Namine tapping her fingers along a table. He must have caught her just as she was leaving for the office.  _ “This is tough. I can’t believe what we do for a living is easier to understand than this. You can’t call him and ask for a little more advice?” _

He would, if he had Ventus’ number, but he had been so distracted with the young man that rainy day, he had forgotten to ask. Besides, Ventus had said he had night class around the end of the week, and Vanitas didn’t want to wake him if he had gotten home late. “I would if I could, but-” And then it hit him. He didn’t have Ventus’s phone number, but he did have someone else’s who would be more than willing to help.

“I just had an idea. Send me any messages or calls that need my attention, and I’ll get back to them. Bye.” After bidding his secretary farewell, Vanitas stood and walked over to his hotel landline, dialing on one hand while sliding his finger down the contact list with the other. He held the landline to his ear just as he found who he was looking for.

“Hello, room service? I’m expecting guests shortly, so send two of everything on the breakfast menu. Charge it to my room, and waste no time.”

* * *

 

“Oh,  _ wow _ !” With her eyes shutting in bliss, Xion went after another bite of the Belgian waffles in front of her, scooping scrambled eggs and hash browns onto her plate afterwards. “I didn’t think hotel food could taste so good! Riku, how are the pancakes? Wait, are they buttermilk?!”

Riku gave a thumbs up, his mouth as full as his cousin’s. While he ate slower than her, Vanitas could see that he was enjoying the fancy room service as well.

“Make sure not to eat too fast,” he said, his own omelette half-eaten. “And if you want any more, then I can order more.”

“That’s so generous! Thanks, Vanitas!” Xion smiled, wiping her mouth with a napkin the moment it was free of breakfast. “So, you want to learn how to play D&D? You know, I actually thought you were going to call us about any news on Wayward Wind.”

In hindsight, he probably should have made it about that and  _ then _ worked in the situation he was having with D&D, but he hadn’t even come up with anything about the thief on his end. He had hung out at Ventus’ apartment until dinner time, then left to take care of some things for work. He had no time to investigate.

“Oh, well, it’s okay!” assured Xion as she waved her hands a little, taking his silence as a no. “Riku and I have only found so much info on our end, anyway. But I’m sure we’ll be able stop him from stealing from Daybreak museum.”

“With the exhibit date being changed, hopefully,” said Vanitas. After explaining the situation to Ira and making several phone calls made to guests and  _ Harte Enterprise _ , the exhibit unveiling was postponed. Until they were certain the artifacts would be safe, heavy security would be placed around the exhibit and the other rooms around it, the entire area surrounding that section of the museum placed on shut down. While Ira was hesitant with the decision, he knew he couldn’t afford to lose these artifacts. “We need something else to go on.”

“Well, you can’t think of much while on an empty stomach,” said Xion kindly. “Why don’t you try finishing breakfast first? And then Riku can teach you about D&D.”

Vanitas glanced over to Riku, who was busy setting up a new stack of pancakes and keeping to himself this whole time. He really was the quiet type.

“Can you teach me?”

“I can try,” replied Xion’s cousin, taking a bite out of his stack. He slid down to the floor and grabbed Vanitas’ laptop, much to the older man’s surprise. “Alright, what character are you playing? Give me your rolls and tell me what alignment you are.”

”I understood only half of that,” said Vanitas.

Riku and Xion shared a look. “This is going to take a while,” they sighed in unison.

Together, the trio sat down and went over the essentials of the game. Riku showed Vanitas how to write down his stats and pick which role and race would work with his rolls. Teaching him how to play was simple enough, and Vanitas started to get into it once they played a small campaign and got to the exploration. The battles and dungeon crawling reminded him of the times he helped Poseidon with war strategies, and in no time at all, he was having fun and scoring major in-game loot. He thought the game would be boring, but by noon, he was having fun. He could only imagine what the game would be like once he played with Ventus and his family.

“And boom!” Xion threw her hands in the air in celebration, dropping her pencil with a smile on her face. “Campaign complete! The party made it out of the cave and captured the hobgoblin!” She clapped her hands, wiping graphite stains off them before clasping them together. “So, what did you think, Vanitas?”

“It was a little strange at first, but a lot more fun than I gave it credit for.” Vanitas picked up his character sheet and gave it a once-over. “I’m not sure I’m gonna remember all of this, though. I’ll look like a total dick if I don’t remember everything and just freeze up.”

“You won’t,” said Riku, paging through the book of dungeon campaigns he had brought along. “Everyone gets stuck somewhere the first time they play, anyway. So even if you do get a little lost, someone’s going to help you out. You said it’s your friend hosting this, right?”

Vanitas nodded. “Yeah, he is.”

“Then it’s going to be fine!” exclaimed Xion, looking at her follow god encouragingly. “If you can handle a session like this with us, then you can handle one with a bigger group,” she promised.

Xion was right. Her words gave him the push he needed, and he gave a small smile as he looked at his sheet once again. “You guys are right.”

“If that’s it, then I gotta get going.” Riku stood and slapped crumbs off his jeans. “I have class in an hour, and I need to get on the next train to campus.”

“I’ll drive you there,” Vanitas replied, standing as well. “Consider it thanks for helping me understand all this.”

Riku shook his head. ”You don’t-”

“I don’t, but I want to. I’d be stuck without the both of you helping me with all this.” Not just for the D&D lessons, but for their help with Wayward Wind, too. Having two other people to help him made the situation a lot more tolerable, and even though they had no leads, at least it was all three of them looking, instead of just himself. While he wasn’t too keen on the affairs his brother had started with the map, it was nice to have another immortal being like Eros with him.

She had been helpful and kind to him and Persephone years ago, and now she was helping him again. When the right time came, he would tell her that Persephone was back. Vanitas knew she would love to see him again, but now was not the time—not while he was still getting to know Ventus himself.

“Can I have a ride too, please?” asked Xion as she stretched out her legs.

“Sure, come on.” Vanitas pulled out his car keys and swung them on his ring finger. “Let’s get you two to school in style.”

* * *

 

“See you at dinner, Riku!” Xion called out to her cousin as he hurried off to class. She hopped out of Vanitas’ car and turned to the driver. “Thanks again for breakfast, Vanitas. Your hotel room was really pretty, and your car is amazing! No one really mentioned that you were doing well for yourself down here.”

“They all thought I was sobbing in a corner like Apollo, weren’t they?” huffed the CEO. He had expected at least one of them to start rumors after he left.

“Hey,” Xion frowned a little, motherly care shining in her eyes. “Don’t make fun of him. He’s really trying to get back on his feet. We all can’t recover as fast like you.”

“Eros…” Vanitas sighed, the gentle bite in her tone turning him sincere. “You’re right, I shouldn’t have said that. I’m doing fine.” A lot better than he had been ages ago, in fact. But he couldn’t tell her why yet. “A lot better since we get to talk again. I’ve been alright on my own down here, but… it's nice to see an old friend again.”

The goddess sobered up a touch, throwing a small smile back at him. “Well… good. I was a little worried when I was sent down here, but I’m glad to see that you’re doing okay. We need to catch up and talk about the good old times. Even if Persephone isn’t around anymore, that doesn’t mean we should stop talking about all the times we spent with him, you know? He would want us to be happy and remember him.”

Oh, if only she knew. “Yeah,” Vanitas murmured as he shifted into drive and eased his foot off the brake. “We’ll talk more later. Promise. See you.” He watched Xion wave from his rearview mirror before he set off on the road, taking a detour on a main street to think.

‘ _Eros would love to see Persephone again. They were friends first before I ever came into the picture,’_ thought Vanitas as he drove.  _ ‘But Persephone is Ventus. And Eros would be so excited over seeing him again, it could trigger another dizzy spell like before.’  _ From what Vanitas had seen, the dizzy and fainting spells were triggered whenever something reminded Ventus of his former life. Hades was one of them, but it looked like Ventus didn’t get one every time he saw Vanitas. It was more like a one-time thing.  _ ‘If Eros slipped up, who knows what kind of episode Ventus would go through?’  _ He hated seeing the blonde in pain, especially when he tried to pretend he was fine. It broke Vanitas’ heart every time, and that was why they needed to take baby steps. He would introduce them to one another eventually, but not until he was sure Ventus would be alright.

As the young businessman stopped his car at the light, it looked like one of his brothers had been listening in on his thoughts. As he idly looked away from the car in front of him, he saw a familiar history major walking down the street.

Ventus could hear a car horn through his music and he took out one of his earbuds, looking towards the street and blinking at the shiny black car that pulled over to him. His first thought was to reach for his phone and get ready to book it, before he sputtered a laugh as Vanitas rolled down his window.

“You scared me!” he laughed. The black car was beautiful, but it looked very dangerous with the tinted windows and the purring engine. Ventus was almost sure the car belonged to a rich gang leader. “I thought I was in trouble.”

“Not with me around,” Vanitas winked. “You’re safe with me.”

“That a promise?” Ventus grinned in return, butterflies fluttering his stomach. Vanitas really looked cool behind the steering wheel. “Hmmm, I’m not so sure. You got a license?”

“Sure do. Why don’t you come and take a look? I’ll even give you a ride to show you how excellent of a driver I am,” said Vanitas as he unlocked his car doors.

“I’ll believe you with just the license.” Still, Ventus walked over to the passenger side of the car and got in, setting his textbooks down and buckling up. “Nice car. So this is what working for a big business gets you, huh?”

“This is what saving all your money  _ and  _ putting up with two older brothers and your stepdad in the same company will get you. Plus some cup holders.” The comment earned him another laugh from Ventus, and Vanitas had a feeling the rest of his day was going to go well. “So, heading back from school, or heading to?”

“Heading back. I was just waiting for my bus,” replied Ventus.

“Well, looks like you’re in luck. My car is faster than the bus,” said Vanitas as he drove in the direction of Ventus’ place.

“How generous,” Ventus smiled, sighing with relief as Vanitas rolled down the window. “Thanks. It’s been getting really humid around here lately, and this helps a lot.”

“Anytime,” Vanitas replied. He needed the cool breeze, too, anyways. While he could turn on the AC, the wind blowing into his car made Ven’s hair dance and sway, like sunflowers in a field. Vanitas  _ really  _ needed the cool breeze, since it was the only way to stop his cheeks from turning red at the gorgeous sight next to him.

“What about you?”

“Hm?”

“What were you up to?”

Oh, right. Vanitas was trying his hardest not to stare at Ventus. He needed to keep his eyes on the road, after all. “Just some stuff for work. I just finished, so I was heading back to my hotel to make some phone calls.”

“It sounds like a lot more work,” said Ventus.

“You’d think so, but-” And then, his phone buzzed with a notification on the screen. Ventus had the chance to see it just before Vanitas could snatch it away.

“‘Call mom.’” He smiled over at Vanitas. “That’s so sweet. You make reminders to call her.”

“She’d fly all the way over here herself and check on me if I don’t,” huffed Vanitas, but he didn’t look too annoyed at that. “She set the notification on my phone herself the last time I visited her and my dad.” She had been so fast and nimble about it too, it was almost scary.

“Visit her and your dad?” Ventus looked confused. “I thought you two lived in the same town where your home office was? That’s what it said on the documentary about it him.”

“That’s my stepfather,” Vanitas explained as he turned at the next light. “Or rather, my second stepfather.” And now Ventus looked even more confused. “I was adopted into the Harte family back when I was a teenager. And before that, I was adopted by another family when I was little. They live all the way out in Greece.”

“Greece?!” exclaimed Ventus in shock. “That’s so far away from here. And you still get to talk to them and visit them?”

“That’s was one of the requirements they had Xehanort agree to before he took me in,” said Vanitas. Poor Ventus was trying to keep up as best as he could, so Vanitas broke it down for him. “Alright, this is something I’ve never really told anyone so, it has to be between us. Alright, Ventus?”

“Of course,” the young man nodded sincerely.

Vanitas sighed, keeping his eyes on the road as he recited the tale he came up with. “Long story short, I was kind of an orphan until I was five. I was born in Patras and had been on my own until this family pretty much found me on the street. They took me in and raised, fed, and clothed me, and they took care of me like I was their own son.” With one hand, Vanitas opened his phone and swiped it to his photo album, finding the photo his mother had sent him ages ago. “See? That’s me, my mom, Aerith, and my dad, Zack.”

Ventus took a closer look at the photo. “Oh!” he gasped. The picture was actually of an old photograph taken by a throwaway camera. In the picture, a smiling couple was sitting on a stone bench with a little boy in between them. The child was holding a fat, black cat on his lap and hiding his face in its fur, yet Ventus could see one amber-brown eye peering from the mass of fluff. “You look so cute,” Ventus laughed as he took the phone in his hands to get a closer look. His black hair hid his Stahl's ears almost perfectly. “Awww.”

Said pointed ears started to turn red. Even if the beginning of his story was mostly made up, those pictures his mother took were not. “Damn right,” he muttered pridefully under his breath. At least he could appreciate the ‘awww’ coming out of Ventus’ mouth, rather than Namine’s.

“Why were you adopted into another family, though?” asked his passenger as he placed the phone back on its perch.

“My parents signed me up for this gifted program for free when I got into high school,” said Vanitas. Even though schooling with mortals was the last thing he wanted to do, he didn't want the time and money his adopted parents put into his education to go to waste. They weren’t annoying mortals. So he went to school, and he did quite well, even though it could get on his nerves sometimes. “And my grades caught Xehanort’s attention. Back then, he was still running _ Harte Enterprise  _ and already had two sons prepared to take over his company when he retired. But he needed a third one, or a third heir, I guess, with the brains to complete the set he wanted.”

“So he picked you?”

“Picked and adopted, since he offered money and a higher education for me if I took his last name.” Vanitas shook his head. If there was one mortal in this waking earth that confused him the most, it was Xehanort Harte. Vanitas could never really tell what his true motives were, but he could at least get a good idea. He was adopted into the family because Xehanort wanted to harness his potential and have at least three smart people running his business. One would have collapsed under the stress, and two might argue over who would be the boss and drive the company into ruin. But three? There was some sort of balance with three leaders running the company. And it had worked. Ansem, Terra, and Vanitas had been proof of that. Xehanort had really thought this out.

“And they did agree,” Ventus confirmed, “to let you be adopted by him.”

“Sure did,” Vanitas gave a quiet chuckle. “I was pissed off at first, though. I thought they wanted to get rid of me.” As childish as that sounded, it was the truth. What was first a front he could use to roam the earth had turned into something he didn’t want to part with. Not yet, at least. He grew to see Zack and Aerith as wonderful parents, and he couldn’t imagine living a life without them, let alone one where they sent him away. “But ultimately, they said it was my decision to make, and they explained that they agreed because they wanted me to get out of Greece.”

“Were you unhappy there?”

Unhappy? Maybe he was. There were days where he was at his worst while walking along those white, sandy beaches. Those days were when he thought of Persephone and how he wished it was the two of them walking together near the rising and falling tides. Being with his adoptive parents had bought him so much joy, joy he thought he would never feel again; still, it wasn’t enough to repair the hole in his heart. The hole spilled forth traces of sadness, of guilt he was burdened to carry for the rest of his existence. So yes. Maybe he was unhappy in Greece, for everywhere he went, Persephone was not there with him.

“I guess so. And they must have thought so, too. They wanted me to have new opportunities and do what I couldn’t in Patras. And while we talked about it, I started to agree with them. So in the end, with visitation rights and me promising to at least use their last name while I visit them in Greece, I was taken under Xehanort’s wing, and well, here we are.” Vanitas glanced at Ventus once, taking notice of his silence. “Too much info?” Had he spilt his guts too soon?

“No,” Ventus shook his head, smiling that wonderfully kind smile at him. “Thanks for telling me. I’m glad you could trust me enough to tell me that. Whatever happens in the car, stays in the car.”

Vanitas almost shivered. Ventus had to have been too innocent to realize his words had a double meaning, but what he was implying struck a deeper core in the god of the Underworld’s heart.

“So long as I didn’t bore you with that story,” said Vanitas while clearing his throat. He took a look at his phone again as his reminder appeared again. “I’ll call her in a while.”

“She won’t get mad if you don’t call her back soon?” asked Ventus with a smile.

“Thankfully no. She’s not like a lot of other mothers I met before,” said Vanitas as he shook his head. “A lot in the neighborhood where I grew up were pretty traditional, very strict and kind of nasty. One of them got really angry with her children, too. Chased them around with wooden spoons.” Thankfully, social services were called before things could get further out of hand. “My mom was firm with me when she could, too, but she never hit me, at least. I don’t believe in that kind of discipline.”

“Hitting…” Ventus gave a shiver, and suddenly he felt a little warm himself. He fanned his hand once across his face. “That sounds really bad… Hey, can you roll down… the windows more…?”

“Hey, are you alright?” As Vanitas stopped in front of the bakery, Ventus suddenly fell forward in his seat, letting out a tired gasp as his bangs stuck to his sweaty forehead. “Ventus!” Vanitas snapped off their seat belts and took the blonde in his arms, his body feeling incredibly small and frail against his own. Warm, too—almost hot to the touch, like he had a fever. “Ventus!” He kept calling his name, trying his best to wake him up as he slipped further and further into blackness.

This couldn’t be happening. It couldn’t be. Vanitas eyes began to bleed into a golden color, shifting from brown, to gold, to red as Ventus’ body temperature skyrocketed. He couldn’t go through this again. He just couldn’t. He kept calling Ventus’ name, praying to his brothers that history wasn’t repeating itself.

* * *

 

“We’ll see you later, Xion!”

“Alright, later!” Xion waved at her classmates as they parted ways, shifting her backpack strap as she walked down the hallway. School had been long, but thankfully, her last class would only require note-taking and was an hour long. She would have enough time to hurry up and change before going to dinner with Riku and his parents. Just then, her cell phone began to ring. Xion stopped on the deserted side of the hallway and pulled her phone out, answering the moment the indie-rock tune played.

“Hey, Riku,” she said. “What’s up?”

_ “Hey, as soon as you get out of class, come straight to my place,”  _ came Riku’s voice through the phone, sounding a little frazzled. That was very unlike her cousin.  _ “My dad is going to pick up burgers since I told him we need to work on something.” _

“We do?” asked Xion as she kept walking. “What do you mean?”

_ “I think I just found our next lead for Wayward Wind, but we need to look around the web a little more. If I’m right, we gotta get Vanitas and head over to Dandelion College and meet with the girl who took a picture of Wayward Wind tomorrow.” _

* * *

 

_ The lake was now their meeting spot. _

_ Every night, Persephone would sneak away from his mother’s domain, and Hades would venture away from his kingdom so they could see each other. Hades even requested that Nyx bring night upon that small realm more often, which she happily did, so long as Hades promised to visit her during the day. He kept to his word, as long as it meant he could see Persephone without Demeter keeping an eye on him. _

_ She would never let them see each other, being the overprotective mother she was. _

_ They would sit by the lake's edge and watch the night sky together. Persephone would count the stars while Hades told him what constellations they made, the both of them fascinated by what the other had to say. Persephone grew excited to hear the elder god speak, holding his arm out eagerly whenever they met. Hades would coil his smoke around the small wrist and hold it lightly, as if he were afraid he would break it. It warmed his heart whenever Persephone smiled at his words, and that made him all the more excited to see him. _

_ This had all started as a love for the young man’s beauty, but it quickly turned into something more for Hades. Persephone was beautiful on the inside, as well as the outside; his kindness and fascination for all living things drew Hades to him like a moth to a flame. The more he spoke and opened up to Hades, the harder he fell for him over time _ — _ so hard that Hades had to restrain himself. He was sure if Persephone knew how much he loved him, he would be scared off. He couldn’t risk that, no matter how much he longed to embrace him. _

_ For now, just sitting down and talking with him was enough for Hades. He held every moment precious to him, even when he would only visit to bring Persephone little gifts. Because Persephone had shown how excited he was over the opal stones Hades had gifted him, the lord of death himself started to venture out to give him more gifts. As it turned out, Persephone preferred gifts from the earth, rather than human jewelry or things of the like. Stones from Athens. Shells buried in the sands of the beaches of the mortal realm. Cold and hard rocks that came from the bases of volcanoes _ — _ and Persephone treasured them all. The smile that crossed the young man’s face whenever Hades gave him something made all the trips worth it. _

_ Tonight, Hades once again left Thanatos to watch the Underworld while he snuck off to see Persephone. He and Hypnos never asked why, but he had a feeling they were starting to figure it out. Thank goodness they didn’t try to pry. With a goodbye to Cerberus, Hades flew high above his realm and made it to the forest, soaring through the trees and past the long grass. He was almost halfway there before he heard gentle sobbing. _

_ He flew at lightning speed. _

_ Persephone jumped in surprise as Hades appeared out of the brush. The young man couldn’t wipe his tear-streaked cheeks fast enough before Hades caught his wrist in a firm yet delicate hold, stopping him. _

**_“Who did this to you?”_ ** _ he asked, his heart twisting as the blonde looked away from him. The baby’s breath in his hair gave off a sad shade of blue.  _ **_“Persephone, look at me. Please.”_ **

_ Persephone kept his gaze away, shaking as he slowly turned his head and looked at Hades. A red hand mark was burned onto one of his freckled cheeks. _

_ “Mother was angry with me…” _

_ Hades saw red. How  _ **_dare_ ** _ she hurt him? He was her most beloved child, and she did this to him?! What else had she done while he wasn’t looking? What other ways did she hurt his beloved? Hades’ anger turned as hot as lava, and he was ready to unsheathe it upon the goddess of harvest, no matter the cost. _

_ “It’s my fault…” _

_ Hades jolted.  _ **_“What?”_ **

_ “I made her angry because I was sneaking off without telling her. She found out and was angry that I didn’t tell her why and...”  Hades felt a distinctive pant of guilt hit him. “And now she’s going to get more angry once she finds out I left again…” Persephone’s shaking felt like earthquakes against Hades’ form. All the fear and pain the young man felt flooded into him, and he wanted it to stop. He wanted to take all the pain away from him. “And she’s angry at you, too. But… but I had to see you again. I like… I like being around you, Hades.” Both of Persephone’s cheeks were red now, the kind of red Hades grew to love. “I want to keep seeing you, but my mother said she forbids me from seeing you. I… I don’t want to stop seeing you…” He began to cry again. “Hades, I don’t want this to be our last meeting-” _

_ Hades went for it. He went with one of the most powerful urges that had hit him ever since he met Persephone; he embraced him, cradled him in his arms and didn’t let go. Even as Persephone gasped and turned frigid against him, he still held him. His form had molded into the shadow of a mortal, still phasing and shifting between his true form and this one as his arms held Persephone against him. _

**_“It has to be our last, Persephone,”_ ** _ he whispered.  _ **_“Because after tonight, it can be the start of every day.”_ ** _ He pulled away a little, reaching with his new, long fingers to wipe away the tears that rested against the young god’s cheeks. They glimmered on Persephone’s eyelashes like morning dew, and Hades wanted to do nothing more than kiss those away.  _ **_“Come with me to the Underworld,”_ ** _ he asked _ — _ no, begged _ — _ as Persephone looked upon him in shock.  _ **_“Your mother cannot cross into it without my permission. She can never reach you there, and I promise that you will be safe there.”_ **

_ “H-Hades, this is so sudden!” argued the floral beauty in his arms. “I-If my mother found out-” _

_ “ _ **_She could do_ ** _ nothing _ **_,”_ ** _ Hades promised, squeezing his waist gently.  _ **_“Like I said, she cannot enter without my permission, and I would never let her in after what she did. Persephone,”_ ** _ Gently, he rested his hand on the uninjured cheek, thumbing away a tear. His hand must have been so cold, yet Persephone nuzzled against his palm. Gods be damned, Eros must have struck him with her very arrows to make his heart squeeze like this.  _ **_“I won’t allow her to hurt you any longer. I will keep you safe and fed, and you will have anything your heart desires. Please, run away with me.”_ **

_ Persephone gave a laugh, almost scaring Hades because he thought he was laughing at his idea. “Hades,” he sighed, the name wrapped so lovingly in that beautiful voice. “You are too kind to me.” _

‘ _It is you who is too kind to me,’ thought Hades, his mind drunk with affection._

_ “When my mother finds out, she will be furious…” Lithe arms wrapped around the god of the Underworld’s shoulders, causing him to freeze as Persephone hid his face in his chest. “She would raid the depths of yours and Zeus’ kingdom if she got the chance.” _

**_“We would never let her,”_ ** _ vowed Hades, his voice hoarse. _

_ “You promise so much…” Warmth flowed from the smaller body against him; Hades had yearned to feel it again, the same he had felt so long ago, and here it was, the smallest drop of warmth in a storm of ice and snow. “And I wish to make a promise to you, too. If… If you promise to let me stay in your kingdom, you can ask anything of me. Anything, and I will do it. I owe it to you.” _

_ Oh, did this innocent and naive soul know not what he said? _

_ “I… will keep that in mind,” Hades dared to rest his chin on top of Persephone’s head. The young man remained where he was, so Hades took that as an opportunity to wrap his arms around his waist again. “So, shall we depart?” _

_ The baby’s breath fell away from Persephone's hair, new buds already growing where they once were as Persephone nodded. _

_ “Yes… Take me with you…” _

_ As the pair vanished, a single red rose gently floated onto the surface of the lake. _

* * *

“Excuse me.” A kindly nurse smiled at Ventus’ father as he walked over to the receptionist’s desk, Aqua worriedly hovering behind him. “We’re here to see my son. Ventus Strife? We just got a call that he collapsed from exhaustion, so we were hoping to see him.”

“Certainly, Mr. Strife,” said the nurse as she slid a clipboard and pencil to him. “Please sign these papers, and we can arrange for your son to be wheeled down to you.”

_ Wheeled down?  _ Was Ventus hurt a lot more than the doctor had said on the phone? He swallowed down the worst case scenario and took the clipboard and pencil with a thank you, taking a seat in the waiting room with Aqua at his side.

“Crap.” He took a nervous breath. “Aqua, my hands are shaking.”

“Let me do it, dad.” Aqua took the pencil and paper from him and got to work jotting down the information, surprisingly knowing almost everything. Her father assisted with some things she was lost on. “He’s going to be fine.” Aqua looked so sure, and it affected her father enough to relax in his chair. His hands were still shaking, though. “Maybe he’s been staying up too late for school again... He’s done it before.”

“I told him to stop, though,” sighed the blond-haired man. He removed his glasses and wiped them on his shirt. “I told him that he doesn’t have to push himself too hard, either. He always does this, even when he’s running on fumes.”

“That’s Ven for you,” Aqua laughed, though it was a little forced. “You know he wants to do everything on his own. There’s no stopping him once he has his mind set on something. School, helping out at the bakery. We can tell him to stop as much as he wants, but in the end-”

“He’ll just keep going at it,” the baker finished with his own chuckle. “I just wish he told us he wasn’t feeling well. How long did you say this was going on?”

“Mmm, for the past few weeks, but Ven promised me he was getting the bed rest he needed to feel better.” Aqua rubbed her chin thoughtfully, starting to doubt her little brother’s promises. Though, Ventus wouldn’t lie to her... He hated lying. “I guess the weather finally pushed him.”

“The weather has been a little strange. More so than usual…” Nodding, her father stood and held out his hand. “Done?”

“Just about.” Aqua returned the clipboard to him. “So bed rest and soup when he gets home?”

“And lots and lots of ice packs.”

The two shared a smile before the former historian walked back to the receptionist.

“Oh, Mr. Strife.” A doctor came over to him, startling him with his next words. “I guess no one got the chance to notify you, but your son checked himself out of the hospital a while ago.”

“E-Excuse me?!” Mr. Strife turned as white as a sheet, his entire body starting to shake just like his hands had. “W-Where did he go? Do you know?”

“Ah, I'm not too sure, but I wouldn’t worry,” the doctor offered gentle words to the worried parent. “He wasn’t alone. It looked like the young man with him was an old friend. They were smiling and laughing as they left.”

* * *

“ _ Ventus! _ ” Vanitas was grinning, despite his eyes being glued to Ventus with uncertainty. “Quit fucking around, you’re going to end up in the hospital  _ again _ !”

“ _ Language _ !” Hopping on a log at the side of the trail, Ventus laughed and spun on his heel, prompting Vanitas to get over how dirty his shoes would become and hurry over to catch him by the wrist. “Whoa!” Ventus nearly fell off, but Vanitas pulled him back into balance. “Whew. Thanks.”

“Both feet on the log,” demanded the businessman. Ventus stuck his tongue out but still complied. “For someone who just got out of the hospital, you’re really full of energy.” Vanitas still hadn’t let go of his wrist, causing Ventus to hurry off the log and slip away from his grasp once he started to feel warm all over again. He didn’t want to go falling into his arms a third time after that fiasco.

Not that Vanitas would mind.

No, he actually would if it were for the same reasons he fainted before. He really scared Vanitas. Fortunately, the god of passing souls regained his mind and quickly drove Ventus to the nearest hospital, splashing cold water on his face and neck with his jacket as many times as he could. He carried Ventus in and checked him in, anxiously waiting for someone to tell him what was happening before a doctor came back with Ventus, who looked good as new.

The doctor said that Ventus had most likely passed out from exhaustion after throwing himself into several all-nighters to study for school. After a little rest and some water, Ventus was back on his feet and ready to leave; Vanitas and the doctor wanted him to stay a little longer, maybe let him stay overnight as well, but Ventus refused and promptly asked Vanitas to drive them someplace else. Some place that Vanitas had never thought to go.

“So why did you want to come here?” asked Vanitas as they continued along the trail. The closer they got to the top, the more his distaste began to bloom. Sea salt. Of course. “Doesn’t all this ocean musk make you feel light headed? What about the heat?”

“It gets a lot colder once it gets darker,” Ventus told him. Even with that said, Vanitas wished they had went somewhere else. He could almost feel the sand in his shoes. “Vanitas, up here! Come on, you need to see this!” Sighing, he followed after his amnesiac love, trudging over rocks that became smaller and smaller until they turned into gravel. Well, at least this was better than sand. The smell of sea salt still filled his nose, reminding him of waking up under the sand with his brothers laughing over him. That annoying memory was slowly pushed aside as he made it to the end of the trail.

It was like he was staring at a painting after the final touches were made. They stood on top of a bluff that overlooked the beach, the gentle blue waves of the sea meeting with the soft, warm hues of the dimming sky. If he looked close enough, bright speckles began to flicker upon the foaming waves below. It was as if a second night sky had appeared.

“Damn…” he breathed, sitting next to Ventus on the patch of ground he patted next to him. “You’ve been here before?”

“Whenever I’m not at the museum or school, yeah.” Ventus folded his legs together and rested his chin on his propped up hands, taking a deep breath. “It’s so peaceful up here. I found it while going on a hike around here.”

“You go on hikes?”

“Yeah. I don’t spend everyday reading and writing.” Ventus flashed a smile his way. “Wanna go on a hike with me someday?”

Vanitas smirked in return. This guy had no idea who he was talking to. “Only if you come with me to work out at the gym.”

“You’re a gym rat?” Ventus laughed.

“Gotta stay in shape,” In retaliation, Vanitas poked the blonde’s side, earning a squeal and a nudge. “Hey! All that bread isn’t good for you!” he laughed.

“Hiking burns it off just fine!” Ventus huffed, crossing his arms. “Jerk,” he mumbled.

Vanitas couldn’t count the number of times he had fallen for Ventus. This one had to be in the hundreds.

“But…” Ventus looked at him, the bioluminescence from below creating a galaxy in his eyes. “Alright. You come hiking with me, and I’ll go work out with you. Deal?”

“Deal,” Vanitas agreed breathlessly.

The two of them sat in silence as the sky quickly burned out like a fading flame, and true to Ventus’ word, it started to get chilly. Ventus shivered, becoming dead weight as he rested against Vanitas’ side.

“Ventus!” squawked the older man.

“Shhh…” Vanitas glanced down at Ventus, catching his eyelids drawing half-mast as he started to fall asleep. “Let’s… stay like this.. Keep me warm…” He started to nuzzle him, leaving Vanitas stupefied as he rested his head on his shoulder and curled up against him. “You’re really warm…”

Was he? Lifetimes ago, he was sure he was as cold as the dead, leaving him untouchable to everyone—everyone except for Persephone, and now... Ventus. Maybe this time, it was because he took on a human form and was able to produce his own body heat. He pressed the back of his free hand against his forehead. He was very warm, and so were his cheeks. They burnt from how much blood was flowing into them.

“Ventus.” The young man did not stir. He must have been more exhausted than he had let on. The worry Vanitas had locked away that whole time morphed into protection, becoming a shield that was sheathed upon his arm as he wrapped it around Ventus’ shoulders. He pulled him closer, smiling as the sleepy man nuzzled even closer to him. “You're the one who brought warmth into my life,” he whispered, pressing his nose against his hair. Such a sweet and intoxicating scent. Vanitas had never thought he would smell it again. “From back then, and now. Just like it’s always been.” Only this time, he would never let him go. He made that promise to the ocean before them, as steeled and passionate as the thousands of promises he made before.

The warmth that surrounded them was incredible, boiling even. Yet somehow, that didn’t feel right. This moment was perfect, for sure, but the heat was becoming too much. Vanitas was starting to feel uncomfortable, then that was when he heard it. A soft, gentle voice he hadn’t heard in ages.

“Hi, Hades. Um… I’m not interrupting anything, am I…?”

Slowly, Vanitas looked over his shoulder, his brown eyes swimming in gold as they landed upon the figure dressed in embers and flames.

“Yes, you are, Apollo.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was fun to write c: Seriously, just with the gods alone makes it fun, as well as that glimpse into Vanitas’ ‘past,’ It was so much fun cx Thabks again for checking out the fic, guys! I’ll see you next time ^^


	7. Tips and Advice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two new allies step into the fray.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, everyone! Thank you so much for your patience! I am incredibly sorry for the delay, I was recently sick and that had left me unmotivated to write for a while. I always seem to get in a slump while I’m sick but it’s thanks to all of your support and the wonderful fan art people have made I back on my feet and already have the next chapter in the works! I know I say this constantly but you guys are the reason I keep updating! And I am so glad to be back ^^
> 
> Thank you all again for your support and your patience once more. This next chapter couldn’t have been possible without you guys and of course, the assistance of my lovely editor, waywardriot.Thank you guys again and I hope you enjoy the next chapter ^^

Ventus slept like a rock. As soon as Vanitas threw the sheets over him, the blonde immediately snuggled into the pillows and sighed as he sank into the soft mattress, becoming still once more. Vanitas sat at the edge of the bed, reaching out to gently brush the young man’s hair away from his face. So the spikes _did_ let gravity take control, eventually.

The Greek god smiled a little, tucking the blankets around Ventus before he stood and walked out of his bedroom. He would have loved to see the look of embarrassment on Ventus’ face when he awoke in Vanitas’ bed, but that would have led them to more bad things than good. Besides, Vanitas could stand one night on the couch.

“Wow…” Vanitas stopped himself from reaching for the fire extinguisher as he caught Apollo walking on top of the couch like a balance beam. _Right_. Apollo’s fire was similar to his miasma. It caused no harm so long as they willed it not to. He had been away from other gods for too long. “No one said you’ve been living like this, Hades!” Apollo spun around on the ball of his foot, walking back towards the other side of the couch. “I would have come to see you a lot sooner! This is so nice!”

“I’ve been trying to avoid visitors from ‘back home,’ actually.” Vanitas crossed his arms over his chest, a little annoyed. He remembered he had made up his mind at the beach and decided to take Ventus back to his hotel to rest up, but he didn’t remember inviting Apollo. “I thought you would still be cooped up back there, now that I think about it. What happened to, ‘I can’t handle being around mortals anymore’?”

“Well _you're_ not mortal.” Apollo back-flipped off the couch—Vanitas would have given him the scolding of a lifetime if he didn’t land softly on his feet. “Only that guy you bought back home. So I’m doing alright being around him.” Apollo turned to him, two orbs of blue fire looking at him curiously. “Who is he, anyway?”

It was a good thing Persephone and Apollo didn’t officially meet back in the old days because making sure Ventus was kept away from _two_ gods would have been a lot of work. “You still haven’t told me why you’re here,” he said, ignoring the question.

“Poseidon told me to come after Eros reported she was having trouble finding Asteria’s map,” said the god of the sun as he hopped onto one of the hotel tables and sat like a monkey. Vanitas had no idea if he was doing this to be funny, or if he was that isolated from social etiquette. He elected both. “I got a little lost when trying to track her down.”

“How long ago was this?”

Apollo hummed, “A few years in this world.” He crossed his legs and sat on his backside, returning Vanitas’ incredulous stare. “W-What? I mean it, she was hard to find!”

‘ _And you weren’t sobbing in one of the corners of your domain,’_ thought Vanitas with a deadpan stare. The king of drama suited Apollo more than being the god of sun, in his opinion. Many of the gods said the boy’s heart was full of empathy and kindness, and it should be treated as delicately as possible since Apollo had gone through so many hardships. Added to his childish antics and their roles, it gave Vanitas all the more reason to stay away, yet Apollo always managed to find him, annoying him to no end. He was the complete opposite of Vanitas: too bright and spontaneous. “And how exactly did you track her here?”

“When the two of you met, I guess,” replied the walking fire orb with a shrug. “It was easier to sense her with the both of you being together. Her radiance was amplified by your miasma.”

“I’ve been suppressing my miasma, though,” said Vanitas, arching a brow. And he was pretty sure Xion was doing the same thing with her radiance—the glow that gods and goddess emitted that represented their ethereal power. In order to appear as human as they could, they had to suppress it; even little a sliver of it would give away that they weren’t mortal, so it made no sense how Apollo could sense it, even if he was a god. “Are you lying to me, Apollo?”

“Why would I lie?” asked Apollo.

“You tell me.” Vanitas narrowed his eyes at the young god that stood across from him, crossing his arms. Oh, yeah, this was more than enough to make him squirm. “Is there something you aren’t telling me, Apollo?”

“N-No.” Apollo looked away. Ah-ha.

“This will be a lot easier if you just tell me the truth.” Vanitas took one step towards Apollo, watching him take a step back. “This is just to look for Asteria’s map, isn’t it? Or is there something else?”

“Th-There’s nothing…” Apollo mumbled, his radiance practically quivering as Vanitas’ shadow began to contort, fading in and out as it began to lose its shape. “Hades, please…” he begged quietly.

Vanitas’ eyes began to turn red. Younger gods were wet behind the ears; they had been told too many stories of the older gods and what kind of destruction they could lay down if they were ever tricked and lied to, and it showed in Apollo, the soft-hearted fool. Vanitas wasn’t really mad, but he was getting tired of other gods not letting him in on their plans (even though he chose to stay out of them). He wasn’t going to let Apollo do that to him, too.

“Apollo,” Hades’ voice harbored ages of discipline, power that fit the harbinger of reincarnation as he looked down at the young god before him. “Tell me.” He was serious, and not playing games. “Now, before I-”

“I wanted to find you, okay?!” The moment he shouted it, the light from Vanitas’ room suddenly flickered on. Vanitas and Apollo turned around.

“Vanitas?” Ventus yawned as he rubbed one of his eyes, a serious case of bedhead already making a mess of his hair. “What am… What am I doing here…?”

“You fell asleep at the beach, remember?” Sticking to whatever darkness was still in the living room, Vanitas stood where he was as he grabbed Apollo’s wrist and tugged him behind his back in a poor attempt to hide him, blinking his eyes back into their golden color. “Sorry. I should have taken you back home, but my hotel was close by. You looked really exhausted, so I brought you back here for you to take a nap. You want to go home, though?”

“I think I should. My dad and Aqua have been blowing up my phone for hours.” The two of them winced at the same time, like kids who were caught playing hooky. “I’ll call myself a taxi.”

“No, let me drive you home.” A taxi at this time of night? Like Vanitas was letting that happen.

“My hero,” Ventus laughed, his voice soft from his little nap. He blinked owlishly and suddenly tried to look over Vanitas’ shoulder. “Um… Who’s that?”

“My cousin.” Vanitas came up with the quickest, most simple explanation he could make up in a second. “He’s an intern for my stepdad’s company. His flight came in early, and he dropped in _unannounced_.” He squeezed at Apollo’s wrist tightly, hoping the kid had taken the hint and would dim his radiance. “Sorry if his yelling woke you up. He just came from the bar.”

“Oh! That’s fine. It was perfect timing anyway, since I need to get home. Let me grab my shoes,” Ventus smiled as he placed his hand on the wall and used it to help him feel through the darkness. Huffing as his sneakers just seemed to blend in with everything, he felt along the walls before his hand found the light switch. The room flooded with light with just the flick of a finger. “It’s nice to meet you, by the way. My name is Ventus-”

 _Two_ Vanitases. They stood before him, giving him the biggest scare of the night; the one that was next to the Vanitas he knew looked a little younger than him, his hair light brown, skin tanned from the sun, and eyes as wide and blue as the sea. But, and it wasn’t like Vanitas hadn’t smiled a few times around him before, this Vanitas wore a huge smile on his face, the freckles on his cheeks showing as he smiled at both the stunned Ventus and Vanitas.

“Nice to meet you, Ventus. My name’s Sora.”

* * *

 

“Sora” was actually a neighbor that Vanitas had grown up with back in Greece, Vanitas explained as he, Ventus, and Sora headed over to the Strife’s bakery. Sora would follow Vanitas around all the time and even copy him from time to time, an imitation that was carried along into his adulthood, which was why he and Vanitas looked similar and why he said they were cousins—because they were as close as family, insisted Sora. The two of them had also been in the same gifted program, but ultimately, Sora went to technical school. Recently though, Sora had gotten an internship with _Harte Enterprise_ once he finished his second year of technical school, ready and eager to learn from the moment he was assigned to Vanitas’ division. This had been a motion that Vanitas _really didn’t_ want at first, but, with Sora’s persistence and insistence, he took his little ‘cousin’ under his wing and taught him all he knew.

At least, that was what they told Ventus.

It was the strangest lie he ever came up with, but Ventus was nodding politely and agreeing with every word the two said. Out of all the lies he came up with near midnight, Vanitas was sure that this would be the one that ended it all for him—yet it didn’t. He was either incredibly lucky, or karma was just waiting to backhand him when he least expected it.

‘ _Are you just going to keep lying to him for the rest of his life?’_ Vanitas drove a little faster, his knuckles turning white from how hard he was gripping the steering wheel. It wasn’t like that. He would tell Ventus. _‘Tell him what, exactly? And when?’_

“Whoa, hey.” Ventus placed his hand on Vanitas’ shoulder, snapping him out of his thoughts. “You almost passed my apartment. What, plan on stealing me away?” he teased.

Would he? Could he just do that? He did it before. _‘But that was because he was in danger. He needed me.’_ Vanitas looked at the concerned blonde sitting next to him, his heart dropping like a rock.

He laughed, “Tempting, but your family is probably worried sick.” It was pretty obvious, since the both of them could be seen standing by the large display windows of the bakery, their faces pressed up the glass as Vanitas parked his car nearby. “You’re going to be mine soon enough, though,” he teased in return.

“Creep.” But Ventus was grinning, sticking his tongue out. “But you’ll have all my attention on Saturday. I promise.”

“I look forward to it,” said Vanitas—but then it hit him. “Hey, Ventus. Can I have your number? Just in case something pops up on Saturday.”

“Oh!” Ventus blushed for some reason, and Vanitas wasn’t sure if it was because he just realized that hadn’t done that yet, or if something like asking for his cell number was a little too intimate. “Yeah, it’s fine! Of course.” He fumbled with his phone for a moment before he and Vanitas exchanged numbers, a smile spreading on his face as Vanitas’ caller ID lit up with his number. “There you go.”

“Thanks,” Vanitas said as he added Ventus’ name to his contacts, flashing a smile at him. “Call or text me anytime.”

“Even if you’re busy?” Ventus asked with a laugh.

‘ _I’d make time for you regardless,’_ thought the older man with pining thoughts, but he only nodded. “Even then.”

“I’m going to remember that!” Laughing, the blonde got out of the car. “I’ll see you this Saturday!” He waved at Sora as he closed the door behind him. “It was nice meeting you! Goodnight!”

“You, too!” Sora waved excitedly, he and Vanitas watching him be swallowed up by worried cries and shouts of ‘where have you been?’ as he walked into the bakery. The noises were muffled and went away as the bakery door closed. “He was nice,” said Sora as climbed to the front seat, nearly hitting Vanitas in the face with his foot. “How come he’s friends with you?”

“You’re saying I’m not nice?”

“Ow!” Sora pouted, trying to pull away from Vanitas as he pinched and pulled his cheek. “When you do stuff like that, no!” he whined. He sulked in his seat as Vanitas drove them back to his place, and Vanitas appreciated the silence while it lasted. “I did come to look for you, though,” he said.

“Why?” asked Vanitas, unable to piece together Apollo’s reasoning. There never was any reason for Apollo to come find him, aside from being a little bit of twit; he would pester him—even if it was unintentional—and just hang around when he wasn’t busy rising the sun into the air or visiting his mother and sister. And so, Vanitas couldn’t make sense of it as the sun god twiddled his thumbs together for a moment.

“Do souls still come to you?” he asked. “You know, like back when you were in the Underworld.”

“No,” said Vanitas, shaking his head. “Since Thanatos is in charge of it, they all go to him now. Or he goes to pick them up.” When he was Hades, souls were drawn to him like a boats searching for a lighthouse; that was because of how much his miasma attracted them. They would find him in the Underworld, where he always was, and he would send them on their way. When he left the job to Thanatos, the souls wouldn’t go to him. Instead, they would just float around their bodies and start haunting their loved ones. It was a hassle, but Thanatos managed to get used to the job and have his sleepy brother help him, the two of them working their hardest to wrangle souls to this very day. “What’s this all about, Apollo?” The younger god should have known about this by now. Hades had been gone for a while.

“Has… Has Hyacinthus ever come to you?”

 _Now_ it made sense.

“Apollo.” Sora didn’t look at him. He was staring out the window, and Vanitas couldn’t tell what expression he was making. Vanitas didn’t have to guess what it was, though. He had made the same face many times before. “I haven’t been home in centuries. No souls have ever come back to me, not since I gave rule over to Thanatos. Maybe you should ask him.”

“But,” Sora mumbled quietly, “they all come to you. I’ve seen it. And almost all of them get reincarnated, so maybe he-”

“If he has been, I haven’t seen him,” replied Vanitas. “Or maybe he hasn’t, yet. I don’t know.”

“It’s been so long.” The brunet’s voice was growing quiet, and Vanitas could feel the flickering of his radiance—it felt like a fire losing its warmth. “I miss him so much.”

Vanitas knew what he was going through. He had said the same thing countless times before.

“Yeah. I know.” He did. Once. But now, his true love was back, and he never felt happier. Still, the smallest hint of remorse stung his heart as Sora curled up in the passenger’s seat, looking like a mess. He kept silent as Vanitas drove them back to his place.

They were just two godly souls who knew what it was like to lose someone important to them.

* * *

 

“Alright.” Aqua tugged open the carton of mint-chocolate ice cream and shoved a spoonful in her mouth. “Dad’s out of the room, so you can tell me: did he try to dump you in an ice bath and harvest your organs?”

Ventus nearly gagged on his peach sorbet, covering his mouth as he looked behind them. His brother was peacefully snoozing away, excluded from their late-night ice cream party, since he had just come back from cram school. Not that he would’ve joined anyway, since the ice cream party included face masks.

Ventus wasn’t into them at first but overtime—and with a lot of ice cream as bribery—he grew to like these moments he spent with his sister. Besides, his face practically _glowed_ after these sessions and he hadn’t had any blemishes since high school. 

“Aqua!” Ventus whispered, nearly tearing off his face mask, “He’s not a bad guy, for the last time!”

“Could have fooled me.” Aqua was somehow able to smile with a spoon in her mouth, her mask peeling off a little, and still look good while doing it. “Have you _seen_ his car? You better be careful, or you might just be paying for his new set of rims.”

“Hopefully the good kind,” countered her little brother with a smile, even when the smile his sister wore dropped. “I’m going to be fine, Aqua. He’s been nothing but nice to me. Well, he’s a huge flirt, but he’s nice to me. And I think I’m actually starting to like him...” He considered texting Vanitas a goodnight message, but decided against it because he was sure he would only accomplish waking the CEO at an odd hour. He’d try texting him later to hopefully not appear clingy or weird.

“I trust you, so I believe you when you say he is.” Did she, though? The look she wore on her face told him otherwise, but Ventus didn’t fuss over it. Aqua was just being protective, like she always was with him and their brother. She could overdo it a lot, though. “Just promise me you’ll be smart and not let him make you do things you don’t want to. Like sneak out of the hospital. Dad and I were worried, Ven.”

“That was my choice, though,” said Ventus as he chopped up his ice cream. He refused to swallow huge pieces like his family. He was no monster. “I hate hospitals, you know that. I got a lot better when I got out of there.” He softened up a little, saying, “I’m sorry for not telling you I was leaving, though. I was going to tell you when I came back home, if it weren’t for the hospital calling you guys.”

“Would you have?” They both knew the answer to that, and they shared a laugh. “Fair. We’d be scared out of our minds just as much. Dad and I are just glad to see you’re okay,” she told him. “Anyway, you guys are really going to see each other again, huh?”

“Yeah…” Ventus took the smallest scoop ever out of his sorbet before he dropped it back in the dessert. “Hey, Aqua? You ever get deja vu that lasts longer than a week?”

His older sister shook her head. “Not really. Has that been happening to you?”

“Yeah, and it’s driving me nuts,” Ventus made a nest out of his legs for his ice cream carton, criss-crossing his legs and locking his ankles together. “I feel like I’m trying to remember something I should have never forgotten but… Whatever I’m trying to remember just fades away before I can get it. And when I try to think really hard about it, my head starts to hurt.”

“Hmm… What _can_ you remember?” asked Aqua.

Ventus thought about it for a moment. If he tried, he could remember the smell of earth and ash, like he was near a campfire after someone doused it with water. Shades of blue and indigo swam in front of his eyes, with every color of the rainbow following after them. He felt the phantom wetness of mud between his toes and the tickle of something over his eye—something that he wished he could cut off because he had it for weeks and his mother had said it would fall off by now and-

“Whoa…” Ventus placed his hand over the side of his face as he felt a headache come on. “It’s happening again, Aqua.”

“Take some deep breaths. Focus on my voice.” Aqua took his hand, and the two of them waited out the feeling together. Eventually, Ventus voiced that he felt better, and Aqua folded her arms over her legs. “So that's what’s been going on. Maybe it’s better if you don’t remember. I don’t like seeing you like this, Ven.”

“I think the same thing, but…” Ventus placed his hand over his chest. “Something inside me really wants to remember what I forgot. I know this sounds weird, but… it’s like this voice in my head is urging me to remember, and it promises everything will make sense when I do. The thing is, I don’t know just what it means by ‘everything will make sense…’” Ventus stared down at his chest, as if looking at it would give him an answer. “What is it you want me to remember…?”

* * *

 

The eggs disappeared the moment Vanitas placed them on the table.

“Hey, don’t inhale that!” Vanitas grabbed the plate and scowled. It would have never been seen again by how fast Sora was shoveling food into his mouth. “You’re a god, where are your manners?”

“Left them back home. Can I have more?” Vanitas shook his head and just slid him the tray of eggs and bacon he had bought with room service. Now, he knew what it was like for a god to try food for the first time. Before the gods had ever thought to look like their creations, they had stayed in their more godly forms. They were curtains and fogs of what they ruled over (a cloud of miasma, a pillar of the sun’s fire, et cetera). They had none of the needs that mortals had—eating, sleeping, the works. It wasn’t until they started taking on human forms that the needs began to awaken. They craved sleep, food, sex—the bodily desires their creations had. Whether it was brought on by adaptation, mimicry, or they had these needs all along, no one could tell. It just started out as a _large_ appetite. And depending on the god, it would take a while for them to control the appetite.

The biggest example of this was his own brother, Zeus, yet they still didn’t know why they felt these needs. Zeus had certainly never explained himself. Vanitas was grateful that his desires centered around food when he took on a human form, instead of Zeus’ more bodily desires.

Vanitas had swallowed a whole leg of roast chicken back when he had taken on a human form. He almost scared Aerith when he swallowed the bone with it, and Zack had nearly given him the Heimlich maneuver. Fortunately, he was fine, yet still hungry. Despite how disturbed they were, they fed him until he had his first stomach ache. Thus, he kept his eye on Sora to make sure history didn’t repeat itself.

He also watched him to make sure he was alright from last night. When they had gotten back to the hotel, Vanitas had made him a spot to sleep on the couch, as fatigue would probably hit him soon enough, now that he had taken on a human form. The sun god had said nothing, and he curled up on the couch under the blanket Vanitas left him. Vanitas was expecting to wake up to the same sight, but was instead greeted by a hungry Sora who pestered him for food like a baby bird.

At least he wasn’t hand-feeding him, he thought with mortification.

As he ate, Vanitas went into more detail about how he and Eros met and what their plans were, along with how his job had tied him further into this. Apollo understood and offered his help in between bites, to which Vanitas accepted, despite the two feet he had placed between him and Apollo. He really didn’t want bits of eggs and bacon all over his shirt.

With his house guest now preoccupied with food, Vanitas pulled out his phone to get some business handled. He still needed to arrange the last of the deliveries to the museum, since some of them had to be put on hold because of the change of the exhibit’s date. It gave him a lot more work to do, but honestly, he needed it. He had been neglecting his role in the company for too long, and despite his attitude towards his family, he upheld his reputation and his job. He got work done, and couldn’t allow himself to slow down.

Thankfully, after some planning and a business meeting over video, Vanitas was able to get back into his work flow and finish up by noon, just in the nick of time. His phone went abuzz with a message, and he opened it to see it was from Xion.

‘ _Riku might have found something about Wayward Wind. I’ll explain more as soon as you get here,’_ the text read, along with an address. _‘There’s this girl who’s actually been writing some really good articles about him. She might give us an idea or a lead for where to go next. If you can make it, let me know so Riku and I can meet you there.’_

‘ _What did this girl find that could help us, though?’_  Vanitas wondered as he walked back to the kitchen. Whatever it was, he needed to find out. He sent a quick reply that said he would meet them there in an hour, before he grabbed himself a bagel and headed for the door.

“I have some business to take care of, Apollo,” he said as he put his shoes on at the door. “If you want to stay around here, just don’t make a mess, and eat whatever you want in the kitchen.” He had thought ahead, ordered more room service, and had it all ready and waiting for Sora in the kitchen should his new monstrous appetite persist.

“You mean for your job, or the map?” asked Sora.

Vanitas thought for a moment. “A little bit of both. But,” he said as the god of the sun stood, “I need you to stay here while I take care of this. Once I get an idea of what’s going on or if I get more info, I’ll let you know.”

“Why can’t I go, though?” asked Sora. “I can help you.”

‘ _I don’t like babysitting.’_ “You really feel like looking with your stomach suddenly acting like a vacuum?” asked Vanitas instead. He held back a chuckle as Sora eyeballed his stomach. “Stay here and try to get used to your new form first, alright? I’ll be back before you know it,” he said, tucking his cellphone into his pocket. That reminded him, and he pointed at the landline sitting by the kitchen counter. “You know how cellphones work?”

“Mortals use them to call each other when they’re far away from each other, right?” Sora nodded, “Yeah, kind of.”

“Good. I'll leave you my phone number, and if there’s a problem, you can just call me.” Vanitas wrote his number on a post-it note and handed it to the brunet. “But try not to call if it’s for something small. Only emergencies.”

“Does that apply to Ventus, too?”

Vanitas gave him a look and was thrown a smile in return. Did Apollo know something, or was he just playing around like he usually was? “Yes… No,” he shook his head, his cheeks a subtle red. “That doesn’t matter.”

“Oh, whatever you guys do is fine!” Sora exclaimed, looking a little embarrassed. “I didn’t mean anything scandalous. You aren’t like Zeus, Hades.”

Vanitas sure hoped so—the last person he wanted to resemble was his brother. “Thanks,” he ended up saying, turning to the door. “See you later,” he said, taking off with his bagel and car keys in hand.

As the door closed behind him, Sora laid his cheek on his hand and hummed, looking doubtful.

“Poseidon is wrong. Hades has been nothing but nice and says he’s trying to help Eros find the map,” he said to himself as he picked at his breakfast. “He can’t be the reason why Olympia is losing its flow. He can’t be…” Yet he still picked at his food in worry. He suddenly didn’t feel hungry anymore.

* * *

Vanitas had gone to public schools for most of his life. He only went to college for his business degree so that big wigs and business partners that worked for his step-father’s company wouldn’t step on his toes or give him a hard time for being some kid Xehanort plucked from out of nowhere. He had grown up nowhere near fancy schools and never saw himself going to one because there was no reason to.

Well, now there was. And that reason was Wayward Wind.

And _Regalia Prep_ was the last place he expected to find a reason.

It was a little smaller than _Sunset University_ and was focused more towards helping high school students prepare for college, university, and trade school. It was also for wealthier kids, Vanitas noticed, since a lot of students were wearing black and blue uniforms and the parking lot was filled with pretty expensive cars. He wasn’t sure how Xion had found a clue amongst the upper-crust of Daybreak City, but he hoped it would be something helpful.

The students gave Vanitas looks as he walked on school grounds, ‘ _who is he?’_ clearly written across their faces. The former god had other issues to attend to, so he walked across the fine-trimmed grass and past the statues of the school’s founders and ignored the stares, until he made it to the grand fountain that took up the entire head of the library.

“Hey!” Xion waved at him as he walked by. “I’m glad you made it. Now we can go meet her.”

“Her?” asked Vanitas before he looked around, noticing a lack of the Iron Giant. “Where’s Riku?”

“He promised some friends he’d help them study for a test today, and he couldn’t cancel,” sighed Xion. “But he told me where to find the girl we need to talk to. She’s written articles about Wayward Wind that have gotten into the paper and that have been posted online, and Riku said she could have some information we need.”

“Did he say _what_ kind of information it is, though?” asked Vanitas. They only walked for a short while before they stopped in front of the steps of the library, because sitting just a few steps above them was a _Regalia Prep_ student, a camera hanging off her neck and a large book on her lap. “Her?” he asked as Xion hurried up the steps and greeted the girl. The two of them talked about something before they came down the steps.

“Hi, you’re Vanitas Harte, right?” asked the girl with a smile. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Kairi. I can’t believe you’re interested in my articles about Wayward Wind!”

Vanitas snuck a look over to Xion, who gave him an encouraging nod. Well, he might as well go with it. “Same here. So, you’ve been writing about Wayward Wind?”

“Mhm,” Kairi hummed, holding the large book—a yearbook—close to her chest. “It started out as a project for my photography and journalism class, but then my professors started sharing it, it got some coverage by the local paper, yadda, yadda, yadda, now they’re trending online. You know how it goes,” she smiled, looking pretty proud of herself.

“Kairi’s articles about him are amazing,” said Xion. “She’s pretty much written books about him through her pieces, and she’s almost always able to pinpoint where he might strike.”

“Really?” asked Vanitas, intrigued.

“Well, sort of.” Now Kairi looked a little embarrassed. “I can just guess based off his patterns. I even tried to explain them to the police, but they wouldn’t believe me,” she said as she shook her head.

“How come?” Xion asked.

“They don’t want a high school student showing them up, I guess,” she said with a shrug, “but I’m guessing you want to know the pattern in order to make sure he doesn’t steal from the local museum’s exhibit, right?” At Vanitas’ perplexed look, she giggled. “Xion told me everything, but it would be cool if I somehow knew that, huh?” she joked.

It would have been, but that was besides the point. “Yeah. So, could you tell me? I can’t have this exhibit tampered with. All of the artifacts are really priceless.”

“As was everything else he stole,” Kairi nodded, “and _that’s_ how you figure out his pattern.” She took a seat on the steps once more and set her bag on her lap. Xion sat next to her and Vanitas stood next to them as the redhead pulled out a notebook with newspaper articles and loopy handwriting on each page. She stopped on one page that had pictures of artifacts and paintings stolen by the phantom thief, each of them listed based on how much they were on the market. “You see? Every place he’s hit, the price of the artifact changes.”

“So with every place he hits, the higher the cost of the stolen good?” Asked Xion.

“Actually, it’s the opposite.” Both Xion and Vanitas wore surprised looks on their faces. “Every place he hits, the price of the item _lowers_. Look, see all the different price ranges? Now look at the dates. All of them are lower than the last. Wayward Wind actually downgrades every heist.”

“What about the Greek exhibit, then?” Calling his stuff a _downgrade_ of all things was quite rude, but Vanitas needed to make sense of this. “Some of the pieces in there are worth a lot more than the things in your notebook. Why is his goal changing for that?”

“I wish I could give you the answer to that,” Kairi shrugged as she closed her notebook. “All I can tell you is his next heist, aside from Daybreak Museum. My best guess is it’s going to be a small heist, probably at one of the discovery exhibits downtown,” she explained.

“You mean where the butterfly sanctuaries and the little art exhibits are,” Xion confirmed. “Huh, I guess that would be a smaller place to steal from without gaining too much attention. I’ll check and see what things he could possibly have his sights set on stealing,” she said to Vanitas. “Maybe we can even catch him in the act! Oooh, we could stake-out the place, too!” She started to look excited, her love for mystery novels showing.

“Before we start playing detective, let’s look into what he could possibly want to steal, and _then_ plan something like a stake-out,” said Vanitas. Sleeping out in his car or hiding behind a tree for who-knows-how-long was not the plan he was going for. They were going to be as smart as they could about this, so they needed to plan a few things out before they sprang into action. On the bright side, they now had a better idea on Wayward Wind’s pattern and the next possible place he would steal from. And with any luck, that would lead them to the thief himself.

“Thanks for the help, Kairi,” he told the student as he shook hands with her. “I owe you.”

“Oh yeah, you do,” Kairi grinned and held up her camera. “If I can get an interview with you for my next project, I’d really appreciate it.”

“I think that can be arranged.” Vanitas gave her his business number and asked her to mention his and her own name to Namine so she could patch her through to him when she called. “And we can go over the details of the interview from there,” he said. He did owe her, after all. “We need to get going, but call my work number whenever you want to arrange the interview. See you,” he finished.

“I look forward to the interview! Goodbye!” Kairi called after them as they walked off. As they took off, Vanitas felt a lot better than he did when he arrived there. They finally had a source, one that had given them a major hint as to where to go next. Now, they just needed to form a plan and most importantly, gain all the help they could get.

* * *

 _‘Alright, I’m going to do it.’_ Ventus had made up his mind. He had been tossing all possibilities and outcomes into the air like a juggler, and they all came down the same. Whatever happened, happened. And should he mess up, he could always try again next time. There was nothing that said he couldn’t do that. With that in mind, he selected Vanitas’ number and held his phone to his ear…

And then immediately hung up and chucked the cursed piece of metal at his couch like it was on fire.

“Hey, hey, easy there.” Ventus whipped around to see his father walk in from the kitchen, two halves of a sandwich in hand. “I’m sure your phone didn’t mean to make you upset,” he said, offering his joke with a half of the sandwich.

“Ha-ha.” Ventus still appreciated both his father’s attempt to cheer him up and the peanut butter and jelly. “That’s not what I’m upset about, Dad. I mean, I’m not even upset. I’m just… nervous, I guess?” he sighed as he sat on the couch, taking a look at the warped color that peanut butter and jelly made.

“Is this about that guy you met?” asked the older blonde as he took a seat next to his son.

“Yeah.” Ventus pulled off a piece of crust and chewed on it. “I mean, he gave me his _number_ , dad. And I have _no_ idea what to do with it.”

“Maybe try calling him?” Cloud still managed to grin even as Ventus pouted at him. “I’m serious, that’s all it takes! Once you get talking, all the nervous feelings you get melt away. I swear,” he said with his hand over his heart. “If you really want to talk to him, then go for it. What is there to be nervous about if he gave you his number to call him?”

He was right, but Ventus still had his doubts, his finger hovering over Vanitas’ contact. “I don’t want to bother him if he’s busy, though…”

“Ven,” his father placed a hand on his shoulder, “I’ve never seen you act this way about someone before. You really like him, huh?”

His son blushed, nodding silently. He had long ago come out to his family and was accepted without a single worry. His family loved him for who he was and was very supportive, but it was still a little embarrassing, talking about this with his father—especially since he had seen Vanitas himself.

“Well, you can try to call him whenever you want. And if he doesn’t answer, then he doesn’t answer. There’s always next time.” He moved his hand to wrap his arm around Ventus’ shoulders and squeezed them. “Just try not to be nervous. Keep it cool and keep it casual.”

That was easy for Cloud to say. He wasn’t the one getting giddy and nauseous over this like a kid with their first crush. Still, Ventus nodded and took a bite of his sandwich. He would call Vanitas after he didn’t have peanut butter and jelly sticking to the roof of his mouth.

That would be _extremely_ embarrassing.

* * *

Vanitas had dropped off Xion at her house, along with a bag containing greasy food that was probably going to upset both their stomachs soon. Xion had insisted they were the ‘best hot dogs in the city’ and were worth the trouble they’d give them later, and he hoped she was right.

Vanitas drove back to his hotel and walked back to his room, dumping the hot dog bag on the counter with a grimace. He was definitely not going to eat it now that it was cold, but he knew a certain human vacuum would.

“Apollo, I’m back,” he called out, hearing TV noise coming from the living room. He walked over and spotted Apollo sitting by the coffee table; thankfully, the room looked completely fine, and no mess could be seen, save for the empty room service trays that were crowding the little kitchen. “I guess you didn’t get bored.”

“Mmm, for a while, but then I turned on the TV, and I was alright for a bit,” said Sora, a few magazines on the table skewed about. “I read for a bit, too. Sorry it’s a little messy.”

“It’s fine, just clean up afterwards.” Wow, he really _did_ feel like he was watching over a relative. The fact that Sora looked like him was only making it a little stranger. “Why did you take on a form like mine, anyway?” he asked.

“I kind of panicked,” Sora admitted, looking a little guilty, “and yours looked so cool. How did you manage to get your hair like that?” Sora tugged at his shorter, chocolate-brown spikes. “I almost gave myself a headache trying to recreate them.”

“Years of practice.” Actually, he had started out with long, long black hair when he took on the form of a child. Zack has been the one to cut it when he and Aerith had found him, and he had stuck with the look ever since. It had grown on him. “Well, I guess it’s fine. But remember to stick to the story we came up with. You’re my neighbor who was close to my family and you work for my step-father’s company, under me.”

“I know,” replied the younger god as he turned his attention back to the television. “Did you find out anything about that thief? Or the map?”

“We got an idea, and I think you can help.” Apollo’s eyes lit up in excitement, and he nodded along as Vanitas explained what he and the others were trying to plan. “So, with any luck, we can catch him, and it would be great to have some more help, too. The next time I go see Eros, you can come along so we can all plan out what we’re going to do.”

“Sounds good to me,” Sora nodded. “The faster we find the map, the better. If mortals found out about it, they’d find out about us. And if they find out about us-”

“It leads to chaos, mortals fighting gods for power, the whole situation with Prometheus and the fire, I’ve seen it. I know.” Vanitas waved his hand in dismissal. “We’ll find it, Apollo.”

“Hey, I’m Sora now, remember?” the young man grinned.

Vanitas didn’t smile back. That was a trick of the eye, for sure. “Sora. Right,” he said, shrugging off his jacket as he headed back to his room. “There’s a hot dog in the kitchen. I’d say eat it, but I hope you’re ready for a bad stomach ache afterwards.”

“I’m gonna risk it!”

Vanitas shook his head but said nothing more as he walked into his room and closed the door behind him. He toed off his shoes and folded his jacket, putting the both of them away before he laid on his bed and sat his phone on the nightstand. He was tempted to throw himself into a hot shower, but he felt too sluggish to get up. Funny how he had done so little today, yet he felt so incredibly tired.

He rolled over on his stomach and tugged one of the pillows over, wrapping one arm around it while he laid his cheek on it. He closed his eyes, sighing into the pillow and preparing himself for a good night's rest—then his eyes shot open as his phone rang.

‘ _If it’s Apollo testing how the phone works, I’m going to punch him,’_ he promised himself, blindly reaching for his phone and picking it up. He turned back onto his back as he read the caller ID.

‘ _Ventus’_

“Hello?” he asked, all of his exhaustion vanishing.

“Oh!” Ventus jumped in alarm. He hadn’t expected Vanitas to answer so soon. “Um, hey. How's it hanging?” _‘Smooth, Ventus. Smooth.’_

“Hey there, yourself.” Vanitas placed one of his arms behind his head and made a pillow out of it. “I’m ‘hanging’ well,” he humored the blonde. “Thought about rescheduling Saturday?”

“What? Why would I—oh,” Ventus blushed, glad that Vanitas couldn’t see how embarrassed he looked. “Right, you gave me this number for emergencies-”

“And to call me anytime,” Vanitas added.

“Um… so it’s okay?” asked Ventus.

“Always,” said Vanitas in return, and he didn’t even need to look at Ventus to know that he was getting flustered. “Glad you called, actually. I missed hearing your voice.”

“My voice?” Ventus gave a laugh, lying back on his own bed. He was right. A big flirt, just like he told Aqua. Ventus liked it, though he just hoped his heart wouldn’t break by the end of it. “I doubt it. We just talked yesterday, anyway.”

“Your voice does things to me, trust me,” chuckled Vanitas in return. “I feel completely relaxed talking to you.”

“... That’s good.” Ventus said after a while, feeling so warm that he had to curl into a ball and hold his cellphone closer to him. “I feel the same.”

Vanitas’ heart swelled in his chest. He wished he could see Ventus then and there. “I can’t wait to see you tomorrow. Got any places in mind you want to visit?”

“A few. And I promise that I won’t take you to the beach.” They shared a laugh about that. “There are a few nice places we can check out downtown. Aside from the museum, it’s one of the funnest places for me to go,” said Ventus. “I would have suggested the exhibit’s debut, but…” he sighed.

“I’d take you there if I could,” said Vanitas, noting the sadness in the blonde’s voice.

“It’s fine. I’m just impatient.” Ventus shook his head. “Like I said, there are some nicer places we can check out over there. I promise, you’ll have the best tour you ever had in your life.”

“Will I?” asked Vanitas, but he already knew it he would. He was going to be with Ventus, after all.

* * *

Sora quietly closed the balcony door behind him, minding the hissing noise it made as it got close to the frame. As soon as the door closed, he hurried out of the hotel through the rooftops, scaling across them before he made it onto the street. Once he was safely on the ground, he stuffed his hands into the pockets of the coat Vanitas had lent him and took a small breath. He looked up and down the street before he looked to his chest, wincing as a light pulsed from it.

‘ _I can feel it… I can feel him.’_

He took off down the street, his heart racing as fast as the pulses erupted from his chest. His eyes began to turn bright blue.

‘ _Hyacinthus, I’m here!’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So c: As you can see, the next chapter will devel a little bit into the side pairing I have for this story. Which side pairing? You guys decide ^^ Well it’s already planned but I hope you guys are ready for it nonetheless. 
> 
> The weekend schedule is back and I am prepared to write, thankfully now that I’m well again ^^ Until next time, guys!


	8. The Date pt 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s day of of Ventus and Vanitas tour (date). Meanwhile, Sora reunited with the reincarnation of his own lost love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys;;; I’m sorry for the long wait. Planning out what would happen in this chapter was terribly done on my part. Thank you to all of you, for your patience and for putting up with how extremely late this chapter is. My sincerest apologizes go to you guys. Thank you always to waywardriot for his awesome editing skills. Without his help, the story would never look as good as it does now. Thank you all again for waiting. I hope you guys enjoy the new chapter ^^

Sora was lost. There were no two ways about it. He had only been in Daybreak City for a while, and it wasn’t like he went ahead and memorized a map when he had the chance. He took off from home, guns a-blazing and hoping to help Eros in anyway he could, so how embarrassing would it be to run back to Vanitas’ hotel room for a map?

If only he could transform into his true form; he wouldn’t have to rely on walking like he was now, but if a human caught him or if he accidentally summoned the sun during the night, he would be in a world of trouble. He should have just brought a map with him, or at least memorized one because he was pretty sure this was the third time he had passed that bike shop. The darkness wasn’t really helping, either.

Here he was, traveling through a part of the city he didn’t recognize, alone in the dark, with just the faintest trace of a familiar radiance guiding him to Hyacinthus.

 

It was his -Apollo’s- radiance actually, and only Hyacinthus would ever have it because Apollo had blessed him with it before he passed away. Back in Sparta, Apollo had given his lover a touch of his radiance just in case he needed to find him if he was in trouble or had left on one of his impromptu escapades. It was similar to a tracking device.

That night, Sora had sensed it. He nearly missed it, but it took a hold of him, wrapping itself around him and urging the young god to follow it, promising that he would find his beloved at the end of the trail. Sora allowed himself to be pulled, his feet almost dragging along the floor as he chased after the trail the radiance left. He may not have known where he was going, but he knew he would see Hyacinthus at the end of it.

‘ _I should have let Hades know I was leaving, though…’_ thought the brunet. He bit his lip, almost worried if the older god was going to be angry or worried or both when he found out that Sora had left all of a sudden.The former suited Hades more, but still, Sora pushed it all away as his legs seemed to walk faster. The pull was urging him more, causing him to run until he reached a part of the city that was crawling with nightlife. Neon lights and street lamps blared across his vision and he could feel the ground shake as heavy beats rocked from inside the nightclubs. For a moment, Sora looked around in awe, completely flabbergasted at the excitement and energy that burst through the air. His own foot began to tap along to the music, and a smile spread across his lips. This place looked like a lot of fun.

‘ _Focus, Apollo, focus,’_ he told himself, returning to the call of the radiance as it led him to one of the local night clubs. A small line stretched out of the building, the people occupying it dancing to the music blasting from inside. It reminded Sora of home, back when Zeus would hold parties for the gods. That, in turn, made him a little homesick. All the sweets, and the good times, and the stories he told Hyacinthus...

_ ‘Maybe that’s why Hyacinthus is here, too?’  _ he thought with a wide smile.  _ ‘It could be! Oh, just wait until he sees me! I bet he’ll be just as excited as I am!’  _ Beaming at the thought, Sora made his way to the front.

“Hey, kid!” Sora was shocked. Did that man just  _ hiss  _ at him? “What the hell? You can’t cut the line!” From the line, a man was shaking his fist at him, catching the attention of the other people waiting in line. “Get in the back and wait like the rest of us!”

“Huh?” Sora was confused. He had no idea what the man was talking about. “I’m sorry, I-”

“Why’s a kid here anyway?” asked a girl from the line.

“Probably lost his parents on the way here or something,” her friend shrugged before she turned to the front and waved at the bouncer at the start of the line. “Hey, there’s a lost kid over here!”

Sora frowned. Who did they think they were, calling him a kid? He had made sure to look exactly as old as Vanitas. He was a bit on the short side, sure, but he had barely had enough time to focus on height when Ventus found him and Vanitas a while ago. He knew he looked like a mortal adult—these people were just getting angry at him for no reason.

“Hey.” The bouncer tapped on his shoulder from behind. “Are you alright? Are you lost?”

“I’m not lost!” Sora spun around. “I’m looking for-!”

Apollo was sure his heart came to a halt in his chest then and there.

Hyacinthus. It was him. His hair was longer and his clothes were different, but Sora  _ knew  _ it was him. His very world shook as his heart stopped beating. Every noise around him went completely silent as he looked up at the young silver-haired man. Hyacinthus was looking at him as kindly as ever, looming over him as he held a clipboard in his hands.

“Looking for…?” Hyacinthus shifted onto his other foot, the silence and stares he received from the people in line making him uncomfortable. “So, you  _ are  _ lost..?” he spoke again, and that’s when Sora lost it. Tears welled up in his eyes as he fell forward, his lover catching him in surprise. The mortal fell for the trap, and Sora was now clinging to his black shirt as he let out a wail.

“It  _ is  _ you!” Sora sobbed, clinging impossibly closer to Hyacinthus. “I-I thought I’d never see you again!”

“Huh?” The man looked baffled, trying to ignore the looks they were getting as Sora tugged him farther down and tried to pull him into an embrace. “C-Calm down,” he said, his face turning red as his heart and mind were seized into a chokehold of concern and stage fright. What had gotten into this stranger? He had seen people get emotional while drinking but it was never like this. “Hey, um…” He tried to wiggle out of the embrace, but he couldn’t—this young man had a really good grip on him, and he had completely turned his shirt into a tissue. “Hey,” he tried again, ignoring the wetness on his chest. “C’mon, let’s find some place to sit, and I’ll get you something to calm your nerves, okay?”

Somehow, that got through to Sora even through all the crying he was doing. Sora never knew he could feel so happy and distressed at the same time. Even though Hyacinthus wasn’t returning his hug or kissing him like he used to, he was still looking at him and  _ only _ him, just like he had promised to. He didn’t treat him like he worshipped the ground he walked on, though that must have been because Sora looked like any other mortal and not his true form. That made Sora feel a lot better, even as Hyacinthus pulled away from him and ushered him inside the club.

Meanwhile, Riku eyed this stranger from the corner of his eye, wondering exactly what he was going to do with this young man suddenly latching onto his arm. All the ideas in his head led him to taking Sora to his manager’s office and sitting him down on the couch. It was the only place he could think of, but thankfully, his manager was busy in another part of the club, so Riku wouldn’t have to explain this. As he stood, Sora gripped onto his arm.

“Don’t leave,” he whimpered.

Riku smiled. “I’ll be right back, I promise.” The little guy was strong, but Riku managed to get his arm back once Sora eased his grip. Quickly, the bouncer fetched a glass of water from the bar and returned to Sora, handing him the cup. “Here, this’ll help,” he said, taking a seat next to the young man and watching him gulp down the whole thing. “Feel a little better?”

“Yes. Just a little.” Sora stared at the cup, then Riku. His eyes were a little puffy and his cheeks were ruddy, both from crying, he bet. Sora quickly looked back to his cup once he realized how long they had been looking at each other. Was he blushing? “Um… I’m sorry,” he whispered.

“It’s okay,” replied Riku. He was pretty used to all kinds of drunks. “You don’t have to be sorry.”

In that weird, brief moment, Riku felt like he could forgive this young man for whatever he did. It looked like something heavy was weighing on his mind, and Riku wanted to relieve him of whatever was making him pout like that.  Why did this feel all familiar? He had met this young man before, hadn't he?

“But I am…” Now the stranger was resting his head on his shoulder. Riku would’ve jumped in a different situation, but...  _ ‘He’s really close… Really cute…’  _ He quickly shook his head. He didn’t know where that came from, and he didn’t want to know from where. “I’m sorry, Hyacinthus. I’m so…” The young man suddenly stopped speaking. Riku panicked and almost pulled away to check on him, but that tight grip was on his arm yet again. He looked down and sighed as he saw that the brunet was sleeping on his arm. He must have exhausted himself.

Well, now Riku was sure he was stuck. He had to think of something, or else who knew how long he was going to be stuck like this? He looked back to the little ball that was curled up at his side and was struck by a sudden realization.

‘ _He looks like…’_

* * *

Vanitas thought the last phone call he would get that night was the one he had with Ventus. The two of them had been going on for hours—hours of talking, planning out their day (date), and just having a pleasant conversation altogether; Vanitas could easily fall asleep to the blonde’s voice and never worry about any dreams. If that sounded crazy, then Vanitas might as well have been a lunatic. Dreams meant his brain was awake and was more than likely to wake him up earlier than he would like. Sleeping like a rock, though? That was pure heaven to him.

Well, he wasn’t reaching that heaven for tonight. No, instead he was on the road once again, a coat thrown over the pajama shirt and jeans he tugged on as he drove downtown, answering the two other phone calls he had gotten that night.

He grumbled as he parked his car, something about wondering if mortals  _ really needed  _ the sun under his breath as he headed straight for the club’s doors.

“Hey!” Who the  _ fuck  _ was hissing at him this late? “Back of the line-”

“I will  _ wreck your shit  _ if you shout another word.  _ Don’t  _ test me,” he all but growled at the man. The icy look on his face immediately had the man retreating back into his spot. Good. At least  _ something _ was going well for him that night. He hoped adding ‘kicking Apollo straight back to Olympus’ would be the next one he could check off his list.

After checking in with a bouncer at the door, he was directed into the club and up a flight of steps that led into an office. The music that raged from the club thankfully didn’t reach the room, which was a good thing, since Sora was dead asleep on Riku’s arm, and any loud noise could have probably make Riku jump out of his skin.

“He gave you a lot of trouble?” asked Vanitas as he walked in.

“No,” Riku shook his head. “Kind of surprised me, but he’s been alright. Fell asleep as soon as we got here.” He slowly slid his arm out of Sora’s hold and helped him lie comfortably on the couch. “I thought he was you when he first showed. That’s why I called you.” Riku looked back to the businessman. “Are you guys related?” he asked.

“Sort of.” Vanitas rolled his shoulders, feeling his lack of sleep starting to make his bones stiff. “He’s staying with me while working as an intern for my division. I guess he got drunk without me realizing it and wandered out of the hotel while I was sleeping.”

“Makes sense, I guess,” said Riku as they watched Sora sleep. “He was talking about something called hyacinthus. Or more like he was calling me that while I was taking him inside. Do you know what that means?”

He did. “No clue.” Crap, he should have realized this sooner. “Must have just been him talking out of his ass.” He had no idea if this was good news or bad. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll deal with him.” Bad. It was always bad when it came to Apollo.

Riku looked pretty unsure, like he had something to say, but whatever it was, he kept it to himself. “If you say so.”

He did say so. “Mhm. I’ll take him back home and make sure he sobers up in the morning.” And he would keep a better eye on him because they were almost exposed because of what Sora did. “Thanks for looking after him again. I owe you one,” he told the bouncer.

“No problem,” Riku nodded. “Have a good night. I have to get back to work.”

Vanitas was sure Riku was staring after them (Sora) intensely as they left, but he made no motion to address it nor did the young man have anything else to say. With Sora now in his grasp, Vanitas took him to his car and back to the hotel, prepared to give him the scolding of a lifetime.

“It was him,” said the young god as soon as they got in the hotel room. He was smiling like a love-struck fool and clearly had no clue that he could have done so much irrefutable damage if Riku had found out who he was. Vanitas could see something in his eyes, however; there was a hint of sadness he was all too familiar with. “He looked a little different, but it really was Hyacinthus, Hades. Gods, my heart feels like it’s going to fly out of my chest at any moment.” Sora pulled away from Vanitas and practically floated to the living room, landing back first onto the couch and heaving a dreamy sigh. “I always thought I would say so many things to him when I saw him again, but I could only scream about how much I missed him,” he chuckled, sounding tired as he closed his eyes. “He couldn’t say anything to me, either. He didn’t even recognize me. Jeez, reincarnation sucks.”

‘ _Tell me about it,’_ thought Vanitas, his anger from before dropping a little.

“I’ll be honest… I sensed him a few times before I came to you. I even ran into him once,” said Sora. Vanitas could almost see the scene, but he couldn't pin the location in his mind. Where had Sora had the chance to meet Riku? “But back then, I thought that was just my heart playing tricks on me.” Sora rolled onto his side and hugged one of the decorative throw pillows. “That’s why I came to find you once I sensed your miasma. I wanted to be positive that it was him. And it was….” The young man squeezed the pillow against his face, shaking. “He looks amazing… Gods, I think I’m falling in love with him all over again.”

Vanitas knew the feeling.

“Look,” Vanitas sighed, his anger going down but his sleepless headache beginning to rise. “We can talk more about this in the morning. Don’t go pulling this midnight-adventure bull crap again unless you want me to catapult you back to Olympus.”

“You don’t own one of those, do you?”

“Trust me, I’ll find a way,” huffed the tired businessman. “Just go to bed. And I meant what I said.”

Sora yawned, getting a little more comfortable on the couch. “Alright. I’m sorry for not telling you. And I promise I won’t sneak off again without letting you know. Goodnight.”

Vanitas was going to make sure the sun god wouldn’t sneak off, period, but he was too tired to make arguments about that now. Yawning, he went back to his room and all too readily sank back into bed, knocking out the moment his cheek rested against his pillow.

* * *

 

“And you can call me as soon as something happens.”

“Um, you mean  _ if  _ something happens, right Aqua?”

“You heard what I said.”

Ventus hid his eye roll but smiled at Aqua nonetheless before pulling her into a hug. “Thanks for looking after me, sis. I swear, you’ll be the first one I call if anything happens.”

“Hey.” From the living room couch, Cloud gave a pout as reruns of a comedy duo played on TV. “How come I’m not the first one you call if you’re ever in danger?”

Aqua laughed as she pulled away from a Ventus. “Because I’m the one who took karate,” she said as she demonstrated a stance.

“And I’m the one who paid for your karate lessons,” said Cloud, half-heartedly throwing out his own stance right back at her. The three of them laughed, though, and laughing helped Ventus relax more, as he had been a real nervous wreck when he got up that morning. He had managed to sleep peacefully after talking with Vanitas over the phone, but now that he had woken up on the morning of their  _ date  _ (his heart and mind really liked to sing that), all of his nerves were jumping, and he had the biggest need to throw up. Thankfully, Cloud had coaxed him into eating and breathing before he helped him pick out some nice clothes for that day. After several options and some fashion tips from his brother -half-asleep as he tried to nap though the morning- Ventus settled on a nice T-shirt and jeans with a jacket, bringing along his messenger bag as a security blanket. His anxiety probably would have shot through the roof if he didn’t have it.

“The next bus should be leaving in ten, so you better get a move on, Ven,” said his father.

“Oh!” Aqua pulled Ventus into another hug, squeezing him extra tight. “Seriously, just be careful and text me when you guys meet up, alright? Let me know that you’re safe,” she said.

Ventus smiled softly. She was overprotective, but she was also his sister—one who clearly cared a lot about him, and it showed. He nodded before returning the back-breaking hug. “I promise.”

Aqua let him go, and with that, Ventus waved and said goodbyes to his family before he took off down the stairs and towards the bus stop, his face already flushed from the thoughts rolling around in his head.

* * *

Vanitas was not as prepared as he would have liked to be that morning.

His alarm clock had awoken him, but it was  _ an hour  _ later than he had originally set up. How did he not see that? The time he had to be prepared was already gone, so he had to rush, picking out his clothes in a hurry and starting up his breakfast while he ran a hot shower. He washed, shaved, and cleaned himself up before changing into the collared long-sleeved shirt and black slacks he picked out. He styled his hair the best he could and took care of every last little detail, returning to the kitchen to meet his burnt eggs and toast.

“Fuck me,” he grunted, his hunger already up there with the little sleep he had. He scooped all the food onto a plate and dropped it in front of Sora as he watched TV from the kitchen island. “Here, eat.”

“Thanks!” Sora looked a lot more chipper than he did last night, and he scooped the food straight into his mouth as he watched Vanitas trying to make another plate of breakfast. “Late for something?” he asked after gulping.

“Yeah.” Vanitas gave up on making breakfast —he had run out of the butter to make the eggs, anyway. He hurried back to his room and took care of the last of his preparations before he rushed to the door, grabbing his keys and slipping his shoes on. “I’ll be back later. Text me if something happens or if you need help ordering room service.” He gave Sora a brief lesson, but he could tell the younger god was still going to have trouble figuring it out.

“Wait!” Vanitas stopped at the door and turned to the young man. “We’re going to talk about Hyacinthus when you get back, right?” asked the brunet.

“... Yeah,” Vanitas nodded. Right, he had made a promise to Sora last night. “When I get back. Just remember—no sneaking off like before.”

Sora nodded with a smile. “Got it.”

Vanitas was out the door the moment he agreed.

“What was he in such a hurry for?” Sora asked himself as he finished his food and took his dirty plate to the sink. As he started to wash it, he blinked when a phone started to ring. It didn’t sound like the landline, and it was coming from Vanitas’ room. Sora walked into the bedroom and picked Vanitas’ cellphone off his bed. “He must have forgotten it,” he said, answering the phone out of curiosity. “Hello?”

_ “Hello?”  _ came a female voice.  _ “Um, hi. My name is Kairi Rose? Mr. Harte’s assistant redirected me to his personal phone. I’d like to speak with him?” _

* * *

 

Vanitas was late, in a rush, feeling underdressed, and feeling  _ very  _ hungry… but he had no time to spare for any of those details as he raced his car straight into a public parking lot and got the closest space he could find. As he hopped out of his car, he double checked to make sure he looked okay (correction, he looked  _ damn good  _ and he knew it) before he hurried out of the parking lot and to the meeting place he and Ventus agreed on last night.

He looked out for the flower shop with the blue roof and the cat-shaped sign hanging by the window, and sure enough, he spotted Ventus. He took one moment to calm down his racing heart before he walked over with his hands in his pockets. “Hey.”

“Oh, hey!” Ventus greeted him excitedly and hurried over to him. “I was worried my directions weren’t the best,” he said with a nervous laugh. While that was true, a part of him did worry that Vanitas had stood him up instead of running late.

“No, they were good. I— shit, sorry,” Vanitas sighed, running his fingers through his hair, his charm faltering at that moment because he was so  _ damn  _ hungry. “Some stuff came up last night, and I stayed up pretty late, so I slept in by accident. I’m sorry.”

“Oh, no!” Ventus quickly shook his head. “No, really, it’s fine. You didn’t keep me waiting too long. And you’re here now, anyway, so that’s all that matters,” he assured with a smile. “I just hope whatever happened turned out alright.”

“Yeah, it did.” He really was on a roll with lying through his teeth today.

“Awesome! Come on, let me show you around!” Like an eager puppy, Ventus went ahead as he motioned Vanitas to follow him. The latter chuckled at his excitement before following after him, letting the blonde take the lead with window shopping. Whenever Ventus pointed at something he liked or marveled in awe over whatever was on display, Vanitas said he could buy it for him while he slowly pulled out his wallet—but Ventus stopped him every time, until he finally said that they could just look, not buy. When Vanitas tried to charm his way into buying him something, Ventus said it took away the purpose of window shopping.

“And that’s fun?” asked Vanitas.

“Super fun,” Ventus grinned as they walked side-by-side. “You act like you’ve never done it before.”

“Maybe as a kid?” He did have vivid memories of the days he dreaded when Aerith took him to go shopping; not even making forts out of coat racks could make those boring days fun. “I never thought about doing it. I just go into the stores and buy what I want or what I need.”

“Well, guess I gotta show you how fun it is to do that  _ without  _ spending money.”

It sounded fake, but Vanitas was up for it if Ventus was, so he agreed, following after Ventus as they passed through a couple more shops and simply peered inside. At first, he was at a loss, and then he slowly started to remember those mother-son shopping trips of his past. However, the moment Ventus started speaking, all of that boredom simply melted away.

His lover's reincarnation would point out the little items in the different shops and practically gasp as he talked about how much so-and-so would love that dress or how this person would be over the moon if they got that art set. He spoke so animatedly, gushing over the reactions that would come from those people if they ever had them. Now, it made sense; Ventus was selfless. He thought about someone else before he ever thought about himself. Their happiness meant more to him than his own.

“Hey,” Vanitas interrupted him. “What about you? What do you want?”

“Huh? That’s kind of sudden,” the blonde laughed. “Um, I don’t really need to buy anything,” he said as he shook his head.

“There isn’t anything you want?” Vanitas tried again.

“Hmmm...” Ventus looked pretty stumped, but he seemed to be trying his hardest to think of something. It was weird that Vanitas was asking this, but he went along with it. “The butterfly exhibit. N-Not that I want to own one, but to go see it!” he explained quickly. “I was actually wondering if we could go see it today, but they close early and I really don’t want to drag you to-”

“We can go.”

Ventus was almost speechless. “You… You don’t have to go to it for me.”

“Who says I don’t like butterflies? You don't think I have a soft side, Ventus? I'm hurt,” teased the CEO, earning an indignant noise from the blonde. Vanitas laughed, half-heartedly running away from Ventus as the college student sputtered and tried to fire back a few witty comebacks. Eventually, the two of them lost their breath from laughing and jogging, and they stopped in front of pizza joint. “We can go later,” said Vanitas once he caught his breath. “There’s probably not going to be a lot of people later, so we can go see it for ourselves.”

“Yeah, mainly senior citizens and kids on school field trips go see it in the morning. It’d be nice to go when it’s less crowded,” Ventus agreed. “If you’re alright with it, at least. What should we do until then?”

Vanitas pointed beside them. “Pizza?” His stomach voiced its opinion with a growl.

Ventus laughed as Vanitas scowled at his stomach. “Pizza.”

* * *

Greasy food was disgusting, but it was the best thing Vanitas had ever tried when he first became a mortal. Pizza with a lot of toppings was his favorite. Thankfully, this pizzeria offered small, personal pizzas so he and Ventus got to have whatever they wanted without ruining each other’s appetite. A few slices and some cheerful banter later, they were finished with their food and were on their way out the door when Ventus stopped and stared at something on the street.

“Ventus?” asked Vanitas, but the blonde was already hurrying over to the end of the street. Surprised, the young businessman followed after him, and he soon saw a child sobbing into Ventus’ shirt, clinging to him for dear life. “What-?”

“Lost his mom in the crowd,” explained Ventus as he patted the little boy on the back. “Shhh, shhh, it's okay. We’ll find your mom, I promise. Can you tell us what she looks like so we can help you look for her?”

The kid whimpered, wiping his runny nose with his sleeve. “Um… Red shirt… sh-she’s got hair like mine…” The kid could only say so much before he started to cry and hug Ventus again. “I-I just want my mommy!”

“We’ll help you find her, I promise we will.” Ventus patted the young boy on the back again, feeling terrible for him.

“We should probably find a police officer and see if a parent reported a lost child.” Vanitas suggested once Ventus had managed to scoop the boy into his arms and hold him. “We can stay until she shows up or if the police officer finds anything.” He wasn’t equipped for this kind of situation, but he at least wanted to ease some of the responsibility off Ventus’ shoulders.

Judging by the relieved smile the blonde gave him, Vanitas could tell he needed it.

“Yeah,” he nodded. “Come on, let's go find a police officer so he’ll help us find your mommy, okay?” he said softly to the boy. Thankfully, the little addition to their date nodded and held onto Ventus as they found the nearest police officer and explained the situation to her. After she made a few calls and checked in with her fellow officers, she did confirm that a worried mother was searching for her son.

“Alright, you have to go with the nice police woman now-” Vanitas began, but the boy started to scream his head off as the policewoman attempted to carry him. Vanitas was sure he would have lost his hearing even if he was a foot away from the the pair and the policewoman. The kid had quite the lungs. Ventus managed to calm him down by patting his back and rocking him.

“Shh, shhh, alright, alright. I’ll stay with you until your mommy comes to get you, that sound okay?” he asked.

“M-Mhm.” The boy nodded, snot running down his chin. Vanitas hid his grimace.

Ventus smiled, however. “Alright, why don’t we go sit down? Um, if that’s okay?”

Whether he was asking Vanitas or the police officer, it didn’t matter. The two of them nodded, and the policewoman motioned them to sit by a nearby bench while she made a few calls to her fellow officers to get the mother there faster. Vanitas mentally thanked her for that.

“I’m sorry,” said Ventus immediately after Vanitas returned with bottles of water for all three of them. The boy was sleeping with his head resting on Ventus’ chest, his body as small as a large teddy bear bought in department stores. Though this scene would be cute to some, an angry green monster began to creep onto Vanitas’ shoulder. He berated himself for getting jealous of a kid. “This isn't what I thought the day would turn into…”

“Me neither, but you don't need to be sorry about it.” Vanitas sat next to Ventus as he twisted open his water bottle. “It's not like you did this on purpose, and you wanted to help the kid out.” He motioned to the kid in question, who looked pretty peaceful as he slept. “His mom would probably still be worried sick if you didn't offer to help her kid.” Most people assumed a child wandering around had parents nearby, or they didn't want to deal with the kid themselves and just ignored them. Ventus was not most people, though, Vanitas realized as his heart swelled with pride.

Ventus smiled at Vanitas. His heart swelled a little more, and that little green monster was sent back to where he came from.

Soon enough, the child's mother arrived and thanked the pair, and the police officer as she profusely apologized, hugging her sobbing son. It was hard to assure her that it was no problem through her tears, but Ventus and Vanitas managed to do it soon enough. Ventus waved as they and the policewoman departed, and he turned to Vanitas with a grin.

“I guess after all that excitement, maybe we should walk around, and I can show you more of this place,” he offered.

“Right,” Vanitas chuckled as the two of them walked. “Lead the way.”

And Ventus did. At first, Vanitas assumed that to get around the place, they would use his car, covering ground faster and looking good while doing it. Instead, he was soon shoved into a bus by a more-than-excited Ventus and left stupefied as random strangers greeted them while they hopped on and off the bus.

“We all ride the same bus routes,” Ventus explained after a woman with a large hat said hello and a man with tattoos on his shaved head gave them vouchers for ice cream at a parlor he worked at. “I guess you could say I know almost everyone here.”

“Why didn't we take my car, though?” asked Vanitas. Not that he was complaining but, this was a little odd.

“You said you wanted a tour of Daybreak City, right?” Ventus’ grin was unwavering. “Well, this is the best way to do it. They're all a part of the city, too,” he said as he waved to another bus rider. “Besides, this beats finding and paying for parking at each stop we need to make.”

He  _ did  _ have a point, and Vanitas  _ did _ tell him to lead the way. Whatever Ventus decided, the old god would follow, within reason and because of the pull that drew him to Ventus.

They chatted with each other, and Ventus introduced him to all the different people that came onto the bus. There were a lot of people that Ventus knew, and it nearly surprised Vanitas. He never would have guessed that this was the reincarnation of the boy who had been sheltered most of his life. He had blossomed into a social butterfly.

Vanitas sat back in his seat as he watched Ventus interact with the other people. He was fine with just watching him talk, and a small smile appeared on his face as he watched him.

Persephone had only ever been talkative with him during his first few days in the Underworld. It was apparent that he had very few social skills, and it took him a while to warm up to strangers, no thanks to that mother of his who breathed down his neck constantly. He would follow Hades around and cling to the back of his robes, insisting it was because he was afraid he would get lost. Hades believed him, but he could also see it was because he was afraid to talk to any strangers, and -much to Hades’ delight- it was because he felt safe around him. However, within just a few months, Persephone knew almost every resident in Hades’ domain and was the most beloved person there. Persephone no longer hid behind Hades’ back and would be laughing and playing with all the little imps and spirits almost every day. He had changed right before the god of the Underworld’s eyes.

And now, here he was again. Charming every person that crossed his path—including Vanitas.

“Hey.” Ventus was on his feet again and was tugging on a yellow cord near him. “This is our stop.”

Shaking off the memories, Vanitas followed after the young man and looked around the new part of the city.

“What to do next?” He asked.

Ventus looked around before giving a small grin. “Whatever we like.”

* * *

_ “See you at dinner, Riku!” _

_ Riku could barely throw a wave back at his cousin as he jogged across the campus grounds. His professor -a kind but strict man, he was- would throw a fit if he was even five minutes late to his lecture. The fact that he had just stuffed himself with a five-star breakfast didn't help Riku's stamina that much, either. He would remember to thank Vanitas for food the next time he saw him, though. _

_ The man himself occupied Riku's thoughts as he jogged across the grass. It was really weird how he had stumbled into his and Xion's lives all of a sudden. If it weren't for that encounter they had had at Sunset University, he and Xion probably wouldn't have been tugged into his affairs. Riku would have put the Wayward Wind incident behind him, had Xion not been so insistent with helping Vanitas. _

**_‘Does she have a crush on him, or something?’_ ** _ That thought was shaken from Riku's head the moment it crossed his mind. _

_ Xion was one of the sweetest people he knew, which also meant she wanted to help every person she met. While that was admirable, Riku thought that this case was strange. As far as he knew, neither he nor Xion had ever met Vanitas—yet for some reason, they had both agreed to help him him with this case, along with the Dungeons and Dragons fiasco he had a while ago. Like he said, Xion was the helpful one. Riku didn't help strangers unless he absolutely had the need to. _

_ But with Vanitas, Riku didn't really think twice about helping him. He just… agreed to help him as readily as Xion. Just like that. He didn't even think too much about it. It was almost as if he was helping an old friend… but that couldn't have been the case. That day was the first day he had ever met Vanitas. But then why did he so easily approach him that day? _

_ Riku bumped into someone as he was submerged in his musings. “Oh.” He quickly offered his hand to whoever he ran into. “Sorry, I didn't watch where I was going.” _

_ “Oh, no, it's okay-” But as the young man spoke, his blue eyes suddenly widened in surprise. Riku barely had the chance to further his apologies or even take a closer look at the poor soul he bumped into. The young man was already running away. “D-Don't worry about it!” _

_ Riku's mind and heart went into two different directions. His brain told him,  _ **_‘You need to look a lot less scary,’_ ** _ which he couldn't really help. This was his face, he couldn't change it. His heart spoke a different tune, though. _

_ In fact, it stuttered,  _ **_‘What a nice voice…’_ ** _ Riku blinked, confused that his body was suddenly feeling warm. Why did he have the biggest urge to run after that person? And why was his chest hurting all of a sudden? _

_ Riku was left standing there. If he didn’t know any better, he would swear he had seen tears running down that young man's face. _

* * *

_ So it  _ **_was_ ** _ Sora I met that day…’  _ Riku thought as he chewed on the end of his pencil. The memory had returned to him as he sat on one of the couches of his school's student lounge. He almost had the entire room to himself since his class had just ended, and only a few other people were there, to meet with friends. He wanted to take the time to work on the assignments he just got, but his mind had started to wander. With this much quiet, his mind ran back to what had happened over the past few days, and some things were starting to click for him.

‘ _Why was Sora crying…’?_ he wondered as he placed his pencil behind his ear and sat up a little. That was one thing that didn't add up, along with other things, yet he was hyper-fixated on that detail the most.

Ever since they met on his way to class and at the club, Sora would pop up in his head every now and then. That strange need from before and that familiarity when Sora started sobbing in his arms… It was weird. Riku wanted to protect him, and he had never felt that for anyone else before, let alone some stranger he had just barely met. That feeling overcame Riku once again.  _ ‘I wonder if I can see him again and figure out why this is all happening... Seriously, what's going on?’  _ he asked himself. Sure, he thought the brunet was cute. He wasn’t going to deny that the stranger looked attractive and those bright blue eyes were like catnap to him, but this was more than some crush. Something about this felt too weird to not be a coincidence. He was already pulling out his phone and looking for Vanitas’ contact before he even realized it.

‘ _It all goes back to Vanitas,’_ Riku thought as he stopped scrolling. Something weird was going on. From the moment that man had appeared, odd things had been happening. Riku could ignore them at first since Xion was with him, and it was easier to deal with these things with her, but then Sora came in, and things hadn't been sitting right with him since. He needed to call Vanitas and get some answers from him because something told him that Vanitas knew what was going on.

_ ‘Xion’  _ flashed across his screen.

Riku answered. “Yeah?”

_ “Riku!”  _ his cousin exclaimed.  _ “Are you free? You think you can book it over to  _ **_Regalia Prep_ ** _? Something big came up!” _

“Yeah, shoot.” Riku would think about this later. He was going to make sure he would have a word with the businessman later. “What’s going on? Did something happen?”

What Xion said next was not what he had expected.

_ “Kairi says she has an idea of who Wayward Wind is.” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! So, I’ve went ahead and finally made a list of what the next chapters will involve. The next one, I will say, will involve a lot of the past and some things that went down without main pairing and our side pairing c: So I hope you all are excited for that ^^ Honestly though, thank you guys again for your continued support, through your words and fan art. You’ve all been really helpful and have helped me in so many ways to get this next chapter and the fic done. Thank you again from the bottom of my heart. Until next time!


End file.
